| Author/Contributor(s): | Read, Miss |
| Publisher: | Harper Paperbacks |
| Date: | 12/9/2008 |
| Binding: | Paperback |
| Condition: | NEW |
In the follow-up to Thrush Green, the arrival of a stranger in the village stirs ripples of speculation and interest.
Miss Read introduces retired traveller Harold Shoosmith to the overgrown corner house as autumn brings crisp air to the Cotswolds. The village observes his bachelor routine with lively curiosity, wondering how the newcomer will fit into its quiet circle.
The story follows a season of village stirrings through the approaching winter, from a sudden robbery at the schoolhouse to the annual whist drive.
Across Thrush Green, the parish greets Harold’s proposal for a statue of missionary Nathaniel Patten with vigorous debate, drawing doctor, rector, and neighbours into spirited community plans.
- Small Town Setting: Dotty Harmer tends her eccentric herb garden in the hollow, while a severe Cotswold blizzard forces the community to rally around its most vulnerable neighbours.
- Second Chance: Grumbling sexton Albert Piggott finds his dingy cottage transformed by widow Nelly Tilling and a hot bacon pie, while the widowed rector Charles Henstock quietly ponders a new beginning.
- Multiple POV: Interwoven village perspectives follow timid infant teacher Agnes Fogerty rising to authority after a schoolhouse burglary, and two young boys guarding a secret treetop hideout.
- Also by This Author: Village School, Thrush Green and Village Diary.