Early Days

Miss Read Memoirs #1 & 2

by Miss Read

Dora Shafe was to become the author Miss Read. This work brings together her two volumes of autobiography, "A Fortunate Grandchild", which depicts the life of an ordinary family living in the shadow of World War I, and "Time Remembered", a portrait of her life in Kent in the 1920s.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Biography Memoir, British Literature

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1988

About the author

Dora Jessie Saint MBE née Shafe (born 17 April 1913), best known by the pen name Miss Read, was an English novelist, by profession a schoolmistress. Her pseudonym was derived from her mother's maiden name. In 1940 she married her husband, Douglas, a former headmaster. The couple had a daughter, Jill. She began writing for several journals after World War II and worked as a scriptwriter for the BBC.

She wrote a series of novels from 1955 to 1996. Her work centred on two fictional English villages, Fairacre and Thrush Green. The principal character in the Fairacre books, "Miss Read", is an unmarried schoolteacher in a small village school, an acerbic and yet compassionate observer of village life. Miss Read's novels are wry regional social comedies, laced with gentle humour and subtle social commentary. Miss Read is also a keen observer of nature and the changing seasons.

Her most direct influence is from Jane Austen, although her work also bears similarities to the social comedies of manners written in the 1920s and 1930s, and in particular the work of Barbara Pym. Miss Read's work has influenced a number of writers in her own turn, including the American writer Jan Karon. The musician Enya has a track on her Watermark album named after the book Miss Clare Remembers, and one on her Shepherd Moons album named after No Holly for Miss Quinn.

In 1996 she retired. In 1998 she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. She died 7 April, 2012 in Shefford Woodlands.

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever read a Miss Read book, you know that it's a gentle representation of an English Village in the last century. This is a non-fiction two volume memoir of her early childhood in one small edition. An easy and mostly positive book about the delights and values of an Edwardian family, making me nostalgic for a time years before I was born.

[Julie Durnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting in how she translated her childhood memories into fictionalized books much later in life but not nearly as delightful as the Thrush Green stories.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had previously listened to this book, but reading it proved even more enjoyable due to the charming illustrations by Derek Crowe liberally gracing many of the pages.

4.5 stars

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author tells the story of her own childhood growing up in London and then later in the country. She describes her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, and the little joys and sorrows of her childhood. There is a lot of interesting description about the 1910s, how people lived, how their homes were organized, how they cooked and cleaned and dressed.

In the second half of the book, she goes to a new school which she loves. She makes new friends and discovers the beauties of the countryside. This began a life-long love of nature for the author. There are many descriptions of favorite plants and animals and country fairs.

I love the simple style of this book. It's very calming and sweet. Each chapter is topical and episodic, giving some structure to the narrative. It's such an interesting look at history through these personal memories.

There is very little mention of World War I. The author remembers wishing that her father would come home, and then being relieved when he came home safe, and being proud that he had served his country. The author also talks about food being rationed and it being difficult to get new fabric for dresses. But most of the book is about other matters.

I enjoyed reading this charming book, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read other fiction books by this author first. Then I would already be curious about the author, instead of coming into it with no knowledge of who this person is.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gentle and charming reflections on early childhood. The first section "A fortunate grandchild" I found fascinating for the social history of London family life just after WW1. The second part "Time remembered" details her move to the countryside, a full 17 miles from London. Where her village school obviously provided much inspiration for later books.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved all her books, and waited a couple years to get this one on Paperbackswap. It was okay. It is just a short autobiography about her grandparents and immediate family, and a few years of her life when she was a child and the family moved from London to a village in the country. The village and school were the inspiration for her other books. It was a fine book, just no where near what I was hoping for. I am sad that I have finished all the other books.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This edition contains Miss Read’s (aka Dora Shafe) two childhood memoirs - A Fortunate Grandchild and Time Remembered. The first, about her London childhood up to age eight in 1921, was my favorite. Amazing social history, she described her grandmothers and unmarried aunts and uncles, along with each room in their houses. The second book spent too much time describing countryside and focused more on her love for the village school. Both good, but A Fortunate Grandchild far and away my favorite.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023 bk 213 This is really two short biographies folded into one book. The first focuses on Miss Read's early childhood in London and the times she spent with her very different from each other grandparents. The second focuses on her elementary years in a country school and the influence it had on her life after the strict regime of a city school. The books are enchanting looks at childhood through the eyes of a woman who had an excellent eye for details that draw the reader in. I came to her novels after the end of my teaching career and wish I had read them so much sooner as they have much to offer anyone in education - anywhere in the world. Lovely books.

[Goldberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first taste of Miss Read- light and charming! I'm off to try her fiction...

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful glimpse at life in London during WWI and the English countryside during the 1920's. I love Miss Read's books, and this autobiographical account of memories from her childhood is pure enjoyment.

[Sarah Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book. Made me feel like I was time traveling to the past. Lovely illustrations too.

[Dar · Rating 4 out of 5]

After I moved from the children's section to the adult section of the public library - I was 11 - my first selections were books my mom recommended and liked: Agatha Christie and Miss Read. Not a bad start, really. This is my first trip back to revisit Miss Read. Early Days is a memoir of her childhood, up to age 11, between the years 1913 and 1924. I thought it would be mawkishly sentimental, but there were bursts of realism - the tale of her Grandma Read ends with a shocking twist. I was the one to get sentimental as the writing flooded me with my own childhood memories. The author filled the book with sights and sounds that capture a young child's view. And she was more cynical about her elders when she was three than I am now ;) I could entirely relate to her love of peace and quiet, even in childhood, and her love for books, cats and toffee. A pleasant surprise!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a little difficult to write a review that shows how appealing this book is. I was drawn to it because I like memoirs from the early twentieth century. Evidently Miss Read is a very popular writer of rural English fiction, but I had no experience of her writing at all.

She was born in 1913 and lived the first seven years of her life in London. The first part of the book concentrates on her “normal” happy family and early childhood, her grandmother’s very Victorian house and her relatives living there. At age seven her parents took her and her sister to live in the country, which turns out to be 17 miles from London. Part two of the book describes her immediate attachment to rural life.

The book is completely lacking in the drama and neuroses of modern memoirs. If you have a very low tolerance for sweet (not saccharine) this wouldn’t be for you. I liked it very much.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book from our Little Library on our street in March of last year, 2024. In just over a year it went from a 4.22 to a 4.25. I can understand why after reading it.

Obviously a children's chapter book with sweet stories and lovely little pictures on almost every page, or at least ever second page.

This is my first exposure to Miss Read, AKA Dora Jessie Saint, a pen name she used. I didn't realize she has a whole slew of novels. This one was so dear and sweet. It's a feel good story that takes the reader back to 1917 when she was 3 years old and to her first memory. This book is two stories in one: A Fortunate Grandchild and Time Remembered.

A Fortunate Grandchild are memories of living in London and of her two grandmothers, Grandma Read and Grandma Shafe. Each have their own chapter as she recalls their homes, what they looked like, how they spent their time there and her relationship with them. They both held very special places in her heart. Her grandfather, Grandpa Thomas Smith Shafe has his chapter though it is short. She also shares stories of her Aunts and Uncles and how they fit into their family. It all sounds kinda dull, but honestly, the way she told her stories, I wanted to keep reading.

Time Remembered is her most happiness period in her life from 1921 - 1924 when they moved to a Kentish village when she was 7 due to her mother's health. She realized she liked the "slower" pace of living in a village rather than the big city. It's mostly tales of her school days. Again, very sweet stories.

To my dismay, my city's libraries do not have any of her books, well they did have Thrush Green, the first in the series, but it's on Kindle. I don't have a Kindle. Darn!

[Tracy Hodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I really enjoyed this book!

Another one which has been sitting on my bookshelves for ages - I pulled it out to read, as I just wanted to read something that was easy, cosy and warm - and this book certainly was!

Its the 2nd or 3rd book from Miss Read that I have read and I've loved them all - they are easy, cosy and warm and perfect for just curling up and chilling out.

I really loved the historical side of this books - how the schools were all those years ago & how life was all those years ago; it really made of think of how school life for children was so much better.

I also loved looking up the houses and addresses and seeing how they are now - thanks to Google Maps for this!

It was a lovely warm book, with lovely, warm and friendly people - of a time in history that I personally love - and was written in the same manner as Miss Read spoke.

I really enjoyed this and really felt part of the little family and community that she wrote about.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early Days by Miss Read is an autobiography of her younger days as a child. Dora Saint shares her memories of her grandmothers Grandma Read and Grandma Shafe. Her vivid memories of their families and houses are lovely and very descriptive! Dora also shares her school life - the change from a big school to a village school and how this change inspired her books set in Fairacre and Thrush Green.


‘At the age of seven, Miss Read moved to a village in Kent, and into a magical new world: it was here that she became enthralled by the countryside which, later, was to be such a part of her much-loved novels. Miss Read’s evocative descriptions bring to life the dramas of the village school and the joys of exploring the woods and lanes.’

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Early Days and will definitely read it again.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books by Miss Read are so charming and relaxing to read. This particular book is something of an autobiography, dealing with her growing up with a large family and raised by her parents and a number of aunts and uncles. Her description of the house she lived in reminded me very much of my grandparents house in England. She describes going to school, and having her clothes made by her aunt who was an excellent seamstress. Miss Read is a pseudonym, the author's real name being Schafe. The book gives a wonderful insight into life in London and in the countryside (which was her preferred environment) in the early part of the 20th Century.

[Susan Mansfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spotted this in my local library and thought perhaps it might be "alright" but perhaps a bit dry and dull. I could not have been more wrong. Early Days is a beautiful memoir - full of the wit and whimsy of Dora Saint's books. But oh goodness so poignant and moving too - again just like her tales in Fairacre and Thrush Green. What a way with words she had. I'm so glad I gave this a chance. If you enjoy the Miss Read books, you will enjoy Early Days too.

[Leila Kern · Rating 4 out of 5]

This actually is a compilation of two books outlying the days of the author’s young life. She writes of her grandparents; both mother’s and father’s side and of her moving from a larger town to a smaller village which suited her just fine. Fun read. I would have loved to experience the life she led.

[Jilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book given to me by my older sister and I wonder if she knew this little paragraph was on page 141.

'I retaliated later by jumping out unexpectedly, preferably in darkness from handy cupboards or corners, and frightening my sister into quaking terror.'

As a child it is something which I also thoroughly enjoyed doing to my older sister 😝

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

After seeing a review of this by a Goodreads friend I checked my read list and it didn't show so I borrowed it from the library and then found it in my own bookcase. I love Miss Read, can't remember this book though.

[Hjwoodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiet and easy to read, just like any of the other Miss Read books. It was interesting to read about the day-to-day differences in her early life compared to those, say , of my little grandchildren. How the world has changed!

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting but not engaging

It was nice to see the pot from which the thrush green and village school stories emerged; but the characters were not quite as well drawn and the whole thing was a bit truncated. Worth reading, but more of an exercise than a joy.

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could only yell with rage - or I may have bitten her. I was rather good at biting when young

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet. But also offers a glimpse into how the author transformed experience into illuminating fiction in her novels.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming and lovely illustrations.

3.5 stars

[Kathy Spann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet memories of her grandmothers and early school days. I love her descriptive writing.

[M.K. Aston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir of Miss Read's early childhood written in her inimitable prose. Simply glorious and a must-read for any fan.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely.

[Maryisabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up out of curiosity about Miss Read. A lovely calming piece of nostalgia for a world long gone. Despite being about a generation or two before mine, much felt familiar.