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Miss Buncle's Book

(Miss Buncle #1)

D.E. Stevenson

4.06 · Rating details · 6,978 ratings · 1,289 reviews

Barbara Buncle is in a bind. Times are harsh, and Barbara's bank account has seen better days. Stumped for ideas, Barbara draws inspiration from fellow residents of her quaint English village, writing a revealing novel that features the townsfolk as characters. The smashing bestseller is published under the pseudonym John Smith, which is a good thing because villagers reco ...more

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Hardcover, 448 pages

Published 1982 by Ulverscroft (first published 1934)

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Sep 16, 2016 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: comfort-read, historical-fiction, humor

I've got some GR friends who are D.E. Stevenson fans, and finally, after reading this book, I feel like I really understand their love for her novels. Written in 1936 and set in about that same time, Miss Buncle's Book captures the charm of life in a small English town and the various characters who live there, with all their foibles.

Miss Barbara Buncle, a single lady in her thirties, is having trouble making ends meet, since her investments aren't paying dividends like they once were. Casting I've got some GR friends who are D.E. Stevenson fans, and finally, after reading this book, I feel like I really understand their love for her novels. Written in 1936 and set in about that same time, Miss Buncle's Book captures the charm of life in a small English town and the various characters who live there, with all their foibles.

Miss Barbara Buncle, a single lady in her thirties, is having trouble making ends meet, since her investments aren't paying dividends like they once were. Casting about for ways to earn some additional money (and rejecting keeping hens; they're "too fluttery"), she decides to write about the town she lives in, Silverstream, and the people she knows, and publishes it using the pseudonym of John Smith.

description

In her book, Disturber of the Peace, she changes the name of the town and people, but it's pretty transparent stuff: Silverstream becomes Copperfield, Major Waterfoot is the name given to the real Colonel Weatherhead, Dr. Walker is called Dr. Rider, and so on. So it's really funny when various people in town start to read the latest bestseller and realize that THEY ARE IN IT ... and the portrayal of their personalities isn't always flattering. Their reactions range from outrage (the elegant Mrs. Featherstone Hogg, aka Mrs. Horsley Downs, whose hidden past as a chorus girl prior to her marriage is brought to light) to vast amusement (the doctor's wife, at least until ... well, read it for yourselves!), depending on how much the book skewered them. And the peace in the village of Silverstream is indeed highly disturbed.

It even gets a little meta, as art imitates life imitates art. In Miss Buncle's book, a mysterious boy piper passes through town and his pipe inspires the townspeople to various acts of passion and adventure. Colonel Weatherhead reads the book and, vaguely inspired by Major Waterfoot's dashing and romantic proposal to Mrs. Mildmay, visits his friend, the widowed Mrs. Bold, and suddenly finds himself proposing marriage to her ... and then tries to make sure she doesn't read the book, or talk too much to anyone who has, before he sweeps her away, for fear that she might change her mind when she realizes where his motivation came from. And so it goes. Meanwhile, Barbara Buncle is trying to write a sequel, while nervously hiding her authorship of Disturber of the Peace from all of her irate neighbors, and is going through a bit of a Cinderella experience in her own life.

Miss Buncle's Book is often hilarious and completely delightful. It's a great retro read, highly recommended if you like books that are just a little old-fashioned. ...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Miriam rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Readers, writers, people who find themselves cast as characters in novels

Shelves: books

I loved Miss Buncle. I loved Miss Buncle's Book*. I loved Miss Buncle's book. I loved the book within Miss Buncle's book.

Barbara Buncle is in serious need to some income to support herself and her elderly nurse. What's a genteel spinster to do when she has no skills and women don't get jobs? Write a book? Keep chickens? She hates chickens! A book it is, then.

Having, by her own assessment, no imagination, Miss Buncle decides to simply record the daily life of her small town, changing her neighbor
I loved Miss Buncle. I loved Miss Buncle's Book*. I loved Miss Buncle's book. I loved the book within Miss Buncle's book.

Barbara Buncle is in serious need to some income to support herself and her elderly nurse. What's a genteel spinster to do when she has no skills and women don't get jobs? Write a book? Keep chickens? She hates chickens! A book it is, then.

Having, by her own assessment, no imagination, Miss Buncle decides to simply record the daily life of her small town, changing her neighbors' names but otherwise portraying them faithfully. Hey, what's the chance of any of them ever reading it, right? To make it more interesting, she adds in some adventures, romances and travels for people she likes and punishments and embarrassments for those she doesn't (desertion for the local abusive husband, for instance).

But Barbara Buncle is a better writer than she gives herself credit for, and soon her "novel" is a best-seller! Half the town is up in arms, and everyone wants to know who the culprit is. Meek and dowdy Miss Buncle doesn't occur to anyone as a suspect, but how long can she keep her secret?

This is Stevenson at her best, funny and satirical and kind. This was the first book of hers I'd read and it was far cleverer and more humorous than I expected. And despite being very approachable, the prose is also amazingly controlled. Stevenson can be very subtle. Miss Buncle is more observant than she herself is aware, and the gap between the things she writes and says and her understanding of their implications provides some of the funniest and most insightful moments.

For instance, it's never totally clear whether Barbara doesn't realize her two "spinster" neighbors are lesbians, or doesn't realize that other people will disapprove of them when she accidentally outs them. Stevenson clearly has no problem with lesbianism (they get to vacation in Egypt! In trousers!), which was a little surprising to me in a book written for middle class women of the 1930s. I especially liked that one lesbian and the married doctor who were childhood best friends are still friends and hang out talking about their relationships.

Stevenson is also very kind to her less, um, intellectually gifted characters. The Major, for instance, has no introspection, can hardly follow a conversation, and thinks in cliches. Many authors would make him a stock character, a buffoon and probably a bigot, but just when the reader is judging him (man, what an idiot!) Stevenson gently points out that he is also one of the kinder and more decent people in town. Do the stupid and simple deserve happiness any less? Let him have his happy ending, even if it is a maudlin one.

Stevenson is very charitable: few of her unsympathetic characters are irremediably bad. Some of them just need a wake up call. Where the inexperienced Miss Buncle takes pleasure in giving her characters what she thinks they deserve, Stevenson gives hers what they need.

*Except for the cover. In addition to being hideous, um, the main character is supposed to be 32. I understand that 32 used to be considered an "old maid" but that doesn't mean she looked 65! ...more

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Jan 04, 2018 Melindam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Melindam by: Carolyn

Shelves: classics, uno-2018, cozy-comfort-read, favourites, audiobook, persephone-books, anglophilia, forgotten-classics, lovely-makeover-story

"Mr Abbott had never before read a novel about a woman who wrote a novel about a woman who wrote a novel – it was like a recurring decimal, he thought, or perhaps even more like a perspective of mirrors such as tailors use, in which the woman and her novel were reflected back and forth to infinity."

10 STARS or possibly more!

This was the first book I read by D.E. Stevenson and it is PERFECTION. The enormous satisfaction / entertainment value was the same on reading it for the 2nd time.

It gave m ...more

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Jul 14, 2014 Hana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: old-fashioned, 2015-reads, britain-ireland, cheering-potions

Miss Buncle's book within a book is pure delight. I found myself smiling at just about every turn of the page. If you enjoy cozy British village tales this will be just your cup of tea. But it's not too sweet--there is enough sharply observant social satire to keep the reader wide awake and enough plot twists so that I was loathe to stop reading even in the midst of a glorious holiday weekend.

Miss Barbara Buncle's dividends have been cut and she is living in her village of Silverstream in a stat Miss Buncle's book within a book is pure delight. I found myself smiling at just about every turn of the page. If you enjoy cozy British village tales this will be just your cup of tea. But it's not too sweet--there is enough sharply observant social satire to keep the reader wide awake and enough plot twists so that I was loathe to stop reading even in the midst of a glorious holiday weekend.

Miss Barbara Buncle's dividends have been cut and she is living in her village of Silverstream in a state of genteel poverty. Poor dear. She's the sort of woman, a bit frumpy and past her prime, whom no one really notices. She goes to church and to tea with the local worthies. No one pays attention to her, but Barbara is paying attention to everyone. She is quietly observant in the way many introverts are and when, in desperation, she puts pen to paper to try her hand at writing fiction, the characters who people the village of Silverstream fairly leap into her book. Barbara then has the inspired notion of adding a Pied Piper figure who, midway through her book, turns the village and its inhabitants upside down.

I don't want to spoil the fun by giving away too much, but Barbara Buncle (writing as 'John Smith') finds a publisher and an enthusiastic fan in Mr. Arthur Abbott of Messrs Abbot & Spicer. Mr. Abbott is enchanted with the novel: Was it satire? He was not sure but "It made him chuckle, it kept him glued to his chair til the small hours, it drifted along and he drifted along with it and time was not. It was the characterization, Mr. Abbott decided, that made the book. The people were all so real; every single character was convincing. Every single character breathed the breath of life."

Mr. Abbott's instincts are correct. Miss Buncle (alias John Smith)'s book Disturber of the Peace becomes a runaway best seller and in quiet Silverstream chuckles--and shrieks of outrage--are heard. Who is John Smith? How dare he write such things!

It's all grand fun with a satisfying denouement.

Content rating G: A clean read. ...more

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Jul 12, 2018 Quirkyreader rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was a very delightful book.

My full review is found on my book blog: https://quirkyreader.livejournal.com/...

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Jan 10, 2019 Paul Secor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-that-make-me-laugh

Lightweight, yes. BUT Miss Buncle's Book, Disturber of the Peace (the book within the book), and Barbara Buncle herself are completely charming. I found myself chuckling again and again at the humor and truth found in this novel.

I should mention that this was the first Persephone book I've bought and read, and that I was impressed by the presentation. Evidently the covers of Persephone books are uniform in style (at least all of the copies I saw in a local store were) -grey covers with a white b ...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Leslie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british, humor, kindle

4.5★

A gently satirical look at English village life in the 1930s. Somewhat of a cross between Angela Thirkell and Peyton Place, I loved Miss Buncle, Silverstream and all the characters in this charming book.

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Aug 29, 2016 Lyuda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1900-1930-england

Miss Barbara Buncle, unassuming frumpy-clothed spinster in her mid-to-late thirties, is in a bind- she needs money to support herself and her elderly nanny/turned motherly maid. There are just few respectable ways for an unmarried woman living in a small English village of Silverstream in the 1930s to earn income.

Keeping hens? No, she didn’t like even touching them; they are such fluttery things, aren’t they?

Paying guests? But there is already an establishment in Silverstream.

Writing a book? S Miss Barbara Buncle, unassuming frumpy-clothed spinster in her mid-to-late thirties, is in a bind- she needs money to support herself and her elderly nanny/turned motherly maid. There are just few respectable ways for an unmarried woman living in a small English village of Silverstream in the 1930s to earn income.

Keeping hens? No, she didn’t like even touching them; they are such fluttery things, aren’t they?

Paying guests? But there is already an establishment in Silverstream.

Writing a book? She doesn’t think her books can be exciting -life in Silverstream is rather dull and I can only write about what I know. At least I can only write about people that I know. I can make them do things, of course.

And, so, she wrote a book under the pseudonym “John Smith”, changed the village and villagers' names and sent the book to the publisher. To her utter astonishment, the book became almost an overnight success and would have far-reaching and unexpected effects on the lives of people of Silverstream, including her own. Never the famous saying “Life imitates art” rang truer.

This is a delightfully clever read that combines old-fashioned charm with perceptiveness, comfort and dry humor. Numerous cast of characters provides plenty of opportunities to explore the pitfalls of pride and the foibles of human nature in a kind of tongue-in-cheek way. Keeping everyone straight is a bit confusing at first but not for long. The characters leap to life, distinguishing themselves in one way or another, and slowly but surely move along this multilayered story.

Pour yourself a cup of tea, make yourself comfortable and enjoy the book!

First published in 1934, the book was recently republished in e-format by the Estate of D. E. Stevenson. Dorothy Emily Stevenson (1892-1973) was a popular Scottish author of more than 40 novels. Her father was first cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson.

And about the book cover. I’m glad the newly published editions changed the cover from what it was in 1982 hardcover edition. The main character depicted on that edition looks like a woman in her late-sixties and not our much younger heroine.
...more

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Apr 22, 2018 Abigail Bok rated it really liked it

If you’re in need of taking a nice, long soak of a bath in British sentimentality, this is the book for you. D. E. Stevenson’s books in general are at the sweet end of the spectrum, and this is no exception.

Miss Buncle is a not-so-young woman living alone (well, except for her maid, Dorcas, played for humor in that unconsciously classist way British writers of a certain era have of treating menials) in the village of her birth. Her money is drying up—as it is for many of her neighbors—and she h If you’re in need of taking a nice, long soak of a bath in British sentimentality, this is the book for you. D. E. Stevenson’s books in general are at the sweet end of the spectrum, and this is no exception.

Miss Buncle is a not-so-young woman living alone (well, except for her maid, Dorcas, played for humor in that unconsciously classist way British writers of a certain era have of treating menials) in the village of her birth. Her money is drying up—as it is for many of her neighbors—and she has written a novel to rescue herself from poverty. Those of us who work in publishing might seriously question the sanity of anyone trying to escape poverty by writing a novel, but hey, it works for Miss Buncle. (As an aside, noting the different strategies pursued by the various characters to deal with money issues provides an excellent guide to the ethics D. E. Stevenson wishes us to embrace.)

Miss Buncle is a bit of a Wise Fool, so of course she has written about what she knows: all the people in the village. She has set them going doing the things they do in real life, with only a few twists and nudges. So when villagers start to read the book, they immediately recognize themselves and the drawing rooms are in an uproar. Miss Buncle has taken the wise precaution of using a pseudonym, but even so things get mighty uncomfortable for her. People, predictably, love or hate the book to the extent that they are comfortable with themselves. Some try to do the opposite of what their fictional alter egos do; others go along with the course of action laid out for them by the anonymous authoress.

Meanwhile, the publication of the book has wrought some changes in Miss Buncle herself. A little money and some new friends allow her to shed the more limiting aspects of her character and grow a new life. It’s all very gentle and charming and quite funny, if you’re in the mood. The book appears meandering at first but ties together nicely in the end. All in all, an enjoyable respite from the real world. ...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Sherwood Smith added it

Shelves: fiction

One of my favorite comfort reads of all time. I hope someone will shift it to ebooks so it can be rediscovered.

It's one of those quiet books that take place between the wars in England. Though Jane Austen's name gets wrongly invoked for a lot of fiction about village life, this time I think it's close, for there is a satiric edge to the story of a plain, seemingly boring spinster in a small village who has, without anyone knowing about it, written a book.

To her immense surprise, it gets publishe ...more

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Aug 23, 2016 Jacob Proffitt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: chaste, romance

A recent comment on Sherwood Smith's review of this book brought it to my attention (via GoodReads' odd feed dynamic). With an accolade of "One of my favorite comfort reads of all time." you know I had to check it out. And what a gift that was!

This book is complex and layered with three different levels playing out simultaneously. Which would be cool enough on its own, but it buries all of that under an entertaining style and pitch-perfect characterization that held me firmly in its grasp from b ...more

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Jun 03, 2013 Idarah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2013, favorites, classics

I sit here deep in thought after finishing this little surprise-nougat filled-chocolate of a book. What Christopher Nolan did for Inception and Satoshi Kon for Paprika is here encapsulated in a cozy little read about life in a small English town during the 30s.

Mr. Abbott, one of many secondary characters in the novel, sums it up pretty accurately:"Mr. Abbott had never before read a novel about a woman who wrote a novel about a woman who wrote a novel—it was like a recurring decimal, he thought, ...more

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May 12, 2014 Jenna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-stars, fiction, funny-hahahaha, british, 2014-reading-challenge

I just love fun and campy British reads especially those from an earlier era. Barbara Buncle is in desperate need of some fast cash and decides to write a novel in hopes that the sales generate some extra dough. Being someone who isn't very imaginative or bright she relies on the lives of her neighbors as inspiration. Confused whether or not the book is satirical or just entertainingly honest, Mr. Abbott- Buncle's publisher, decides to publish her book. It becomes a sensation overnight with sale ...more

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Aug 14, 2018 Tania rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: middlebrow, persephone

An utterly Charming, and delightful story of village life. It's a really easy read (just what I needed after a cold), but it's not until you get to the end that you realise just how clever it is, like looking into a hall of mirrors, a book, within a book, within a book, and so on, until it all ties together beautifully.

Miss Buncle is a spinster in rather desperate need of money as her dividends are no longer paying out. She isn't keen on the idea of chickens or paying guests so she settles on ...more

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Jul 13, 2013 Tweety rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1900s-hf, humor, reviewed, owned, sweet-and-clean-g-to-pg

4 1/2

This was such a funny book within a book!

Barbara Buncle is a quiet, unobtrusive spinster who lives in Silversteam. To all accounts she is a bit of a, shall we say… an imbecile. (this is the opinion of the villagers not the reader) She has awful grammar, frumpy clothes and a worn house. She needs money desperately. If she can't make some somewhere she will be in a terrible fix. Shy, good natured Barabra is in a quandary as to how to get this money, after all, what can she do?

That's when ...more

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Nov 23, 2008 Jeanette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: persephone-virago, 1930s-publication, e-w-s-i

If I had a list for books that was labeled simply "charming," Miss Buncle's Book would certainly top the list. A thoroughly charming book from start to finish.

Barbara Buncle's dividends are down and finances are getting tight. Realizing that she must do something to bring in more income she briefly considers keeping hens or taking in boarders but neither seem very appealing. After a comment from her maid, Miss Buncle decides to write a book. The only problem is that she is not a writer and does ...more

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Sep 02, 2010 Carolyn Hill rated it really liked it

I must be in a 1930's frame of mind. Maybe it's the economy. I recently read the latest Maisie Dobbs mystery and just watched I Capture the Castle again. Anyway, I happened upon a review of this 1934 classic, was intrigued, and then found it at the library (amazingly they hadn't purged it). The only thing I can think to compare this to is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, though the stories have little in common except a rather plain and impoverished but perceptive protagonist. Miss Buncle's Book ...more

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Jan 06, 2014 Claire rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

So wholesome, clever, and readable. Feels very modern even though it was written in 1936. I loved it and will have to read the next one in the series soon.

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Apr 04, 2019 Betsy Robinson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Because she needs money, Miss Barbara Buncle writes a novel exposing all the people in her small town of Silverstream.

What absolute fun is this book, published in 1934, about a writer writing. Not much has changed in human and writer nature, and that makes this cozy novel retain its edge. It’s a light, fun read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and learning that its Scottish author, D. E. (Dorothy Emily) Stevenson (1892–1973), had an enormously successful (and lucrative) writing career, despite her p ...more

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Dec 30, 2018 Emma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Charming and laid back read with plenty of humour. Really relaxing to read a ‘simple’ story from the 1930s.

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Aug 16, 2010 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: light-and-fun, english-lit

In the village of Silverstream, poor Barbara Buncle is in distress. Her ever-increasing economies simply cannot keep pace with her dwindling dividends. Should she try keeping chickens? No, they’re rather alarming. In desperation she decides to write a book, and, knowing little else besides the goings-on of her village, she writes a thinly veiled description of her friends and neighbors. Surprisingly, Miss Buncle’s book not only gets published, it becomes a best-seller. Critics are in violent dis ...more

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Nov 22, 2017 Niki Estes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, favorites, historical-fiction

Absolutely delightful! I love D. E. Stevenson's writing and can't wait to read more of her books. Reading it was like finding a lost literary treasure to enjoy. I'm hoping more of her books will be reprinted. First published in 1934, it's a glimpse at a simpler life in the English countryside. Miss Buncle finds herself in need of money when things get tight. She decides to write a story, but feeling she has no imagination, the only thing she can think of to write about is the village she lives i ...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Leslie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: england, cosy-cottages, classics, cheer-you-up-in-spite-of-yourself, favorites

Miss Buncle's Book is exactly what I needed. It "worked on me like a tonic". It is charmingly set between the wars in a small English village ( that's practically a guarantee for success right there, isn't it?) that is peopled with an eclectic population of folk that are not all as neighborly as they could be. Mousy Miss Buncle writes a novel about them all and their reactions to reading about themselves in that book make up all the fun that happens next. I loved the twists and turns of the clev ...more

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Jul 28, 2018 Silvia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-on-the-shelf, clásicos, 2018

La señorita Buncle la lía parda en Silverstream se podía haber titulado esta novela. Me ha resultado una lectura fresca y entretenida, muy amena, divertida e ideal para leer en verano.

Me ha recordado a los libros de Barbara Pym, concretamente al último que he leído, Jane y Prudence, donde también hay un pueblecito con vecinos súper pintorescos. Creo que este libro sería una mezcla de las novelas de James Herriot y las de Barbara Pym. Creo que si metemos en una coctelera 'Todas las criaturas gra ...more

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Oct 13, 2018 Lorena rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favoritos

¡Qué maravilla de libro! Me lo he pasado genial leyéndolo y siguiendo las historias de los personajes de Silverstream. El humor, la crítica, el ambiente...han creado el clima perfecto, hoy mismo me pondré con la segunda parte.

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Jul 26, 2013 QNPoohBear rated it it was amazing

Shelves: clean-romance, historical-fiction, kisses-only, historical-romance

Miss Barbara Buncle is a poor spinster living in the English country village of Silverstream where nothing ever happens and nothing ever will. When the Depression comes to Silverstream, Miss Buncle has to do something to earn money so she takes up her pen to write a book. She pens a novel about Silverstream and the inhabitants of the town. A London publisher, Mr. Arthur Abbott, loves the book so much, he decides to publish it. He can't decide if the author is a satirical genius or a simpleton. E Miss Barbara Buncle is a poor spinster living in the English country village of Silverstream where nothing ever happens and nothing ever will. When the Depression comes to Silverstream, Miss Buncle has to do something to earn money so she takes up her pen to write a book. She pens a novel about Silverstream and the inhabitants of the town. A London publisher, Mr. Arthur Abbott, loves the book so much, he decides to publish it. He can't decide if the author is a satirical genius or a simpleton. Either way, the public will eat up the book. Well, the inhabitants of Silverstream do not take kindly to the representations of their true selves in the novel. What's more, they object strongly to the second half of the novel when a golden boy pipes an erotic tune that makes everyone behave in fits of passion. "John Smith," the author of the novel, becomes public enemy #1 in Silverstream. Not everyone finds the novel offensive, but poor Barbara lives in fear of the villagers learning she is the author and of what will happen to her when they find out. Kind, sympathetic Mr. Abbott has the perfect solution.

There are so many quirky characters and plot situations in this book and in the fictional counterpart, that it would be impossible to describe them all. The quaint English village is along the lines of Cranford where everyone knows everyone else's business but pretends not to. I found the plot very charming and lots of fun. I couldn't put the book down. I had to know what happened to poor Barbara. My only real problem with this book is that the characters are all stereotypes, especially the women. The book was written in the 1930s when attitudes were different, but I had a hard time accepting the demureness of the women. Some of them have hidden depths and the younger women represent the independence and freedom of the Bright Young Things generation. I highly recommend this book to those of you bluestockings who enjoy Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, BBC period shows and English villages. You don't want to miss this one. ...more

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Feb 25, 2017 kris rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Barbara Buncle has written a book entitled Disturber of the Peace about the sleepy little village of Copperfield. It turns out to be a smash—until the sleepy little village of Silverstream recognizes its reflections in the text. DUN DUN DUN.

1. This is a perfect little froth of a book. It's light and well written; it's interesting and varied; it has optimism about the world around us. It was exactly what I needed and I'm so glad I read this.

2. (view spoiler) ...more

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Jan 18, 2016 John Frankham rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

A second re-read confirms this as an absolute delight.

A re-read proves a delight - again. Few novels have made me smile/laugh gently as much, or given as much pleasure. Real characters abound!

This 1934 novel, beloved by so many then and in recent years when re-published by Persephone Books, is a delight. Miss Buncle, dowdy village spinster, starts writing a novel to make up her falling income, and writes with scant disguise about her own village and its inhabitants. When it is published, and peo ...more

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Jun 14, 2015 Catie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I absolutely ADORED this book. I'm adding this to one of my favorites. Ever.

First off, it was hilarious! Like, laugh out loud funny. If you've read the book--the scene where a meeting was held to figure out who John Smith was--I die!

Second, you wouldn't think that a book about a lady writing a book would be riveting--but it totally was! I couldn't put it down. I'm *so* excited to read the next in the series!

What a wonderful book. Books like this are few and far between. It will be totally wor ...more

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Jul 11, 2018 Mireille Duval rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2018

This was sweet and old-timey (reminded me a bit of Lucy Maud Montgomery). And everything turned out well for everyone in unexpected ways, which is always lovely.

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About D.E. Stevenson

D.E. Stevenson

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Full name: Dorothy Emily Stevenson.
Her father was a Cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson

D.E. Stevenson had an enormously successful writing career: between 1923 and 1970, four million copies of her books were sold in Britain and three million in the States. Like E.F. Benson, Ann Bridge, O. Douglas or Dorothy L. Sayers (to name but a few) her books are funny, intensely readable, engaging and dependable ...more

Other books in the series

Miss Buncle (4 books)

Books by D.E. Stevenson

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Trivia About Miss Buncle's Boo...

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Quotes from Miss Buncle's Book

“What fools the public were! They were exactly like sheep…thought Mr. Abbott sleepily…following each other’s lead, neglecting one book and buying another just because other people were buying it, although, for the life of you, you couldn’t see what the one lacked and the other possessed.” — 8 likes

“Some people’s elegance was only skin-deep, scrape off a little bit of the veneer and you got the real wood—common” — 6 likes

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