Мисс Рид

Мисс Рид
Рожденный	Дора Джесси Шейф ( 1913-04-17 ) 17 апреля 1913 г. Южный Норвуд , Лондон , Англия
Умер	7 апреля 2012 г. (07 апреля 2012 г.) (98 лет) Шеффорд Вудлендс , Беркшир , Англия

Дора Джесси Сент, MBE (17 апреля 1913 г. - 7 апреля 2012 г.), урожденная Шейф , наиболее известная под псевдонимом Мисс Рид , была английской писательницей и по профессии школьной учительницей . Ее псевдоним был получен от девичьей фамилии ее матери. Она наиболее известна благодаря двум сериям романов, действие которых происходит в английской сельской местности: романам «Файракр» и романам «Дрозд Грин».

Биография

Дора Джесси Шейф родилась 17 апреля 1913 года в Лондоне, младшая из дочерей страхового агента Артура Шейфа и его жены Грейс. Ради здоровья матери семья переехала в деревню, когда Доре было семь лет, и она пошла в школу в Челсфилде , недалеко от Орпингтона, Кент. а позже присоединилась к своей старшей сестре в школе округа Бромли. Когда ее отец стал школьным учителем, Дора последовала его примеру и прошла педагогическую подготовку в Хомертон-колледже в Кембридже .

С 1933 по 1940 год она преподавала в Миддлсексе , сначала в Хейсе , а затем в Илинге .

В 1940 году она вышла замуж за Дугласа Сэйнта; у них была дочь Джилл.

После Второй мировой войны она время от времени работала учителем и начала писать о школах и странах для нескольких журналов, включая Punch и Times Educational Supplement . Она также работала сценаристом в школьной службе BBC .

From 1955 to 1996 Saint wrote a series of novels centered on two fictional villages, Fairacre and Thrush Green. The first Fairacre novel appeared in 1955, the last in 1996. The first Thrush Green novel appeared in 1959. 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. Saint's novels are wry regional social comedies, laced with gentle humour and subtle social commentary. Saint was also a keen observer of nature and the changing seasons.

Many of the village novels were illustrated by J.S. (John Strickland) Goodall (1908-1996), an artist and picture-book author in his own right.

Saint also wrote two volumes of autobiography, A Fortunate Grandchild (1982) and Time Remembered (1986); the two were issued together in 1995 as Early Days.

Saint wrote 28 novels, 2 autobiographies and 14 other books; her books were translated into several languages including Japanese and Russian.

Saint retired in 1996. In 1998 she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. She and her husband lived in Chieveley near Newbury in Berkshire.

Her husband died in 2004. She died on 7 April 2012.

Influences and legacy

One of the writers who influenced Saint was Jane Austen; and her work also bears some similarities to the social comedies of manners written in the 1920s and 1930s, and to the work of Barbara Pym.

Miss Read's work has in turn influenced a number of writers, including American writer Jan Karon. The musician Enya has a track on her Watermark album named after Saint's book Miss Clare Remembers, and one on her Shepherd Moons album titled No Holly for Miss Quinn.

Bibliography

The Fairacre novels:

• Village School* – 1955
• Village Diary* – 1957
• Storm in the Village* – 1958
• Miss Clare Remembers – 1962
• Over the Gate – 1964
• Village Christmas** – 1966
• Fairacre Festival – 1968
• Emily Davis – 1971
• Tyler's Row – 1972
• Christmas Mouse** – 1973
• Farther Afield – 1974
• No Holly for Miss Quinn** – 1976
• Village Affairs – 1977
• The White Robin – 1979
• Village Centenary – 1980
• Summer at Fairacre – 1984
• Mrs. Pringle – 1989
• Changes at Fairacre – 1991
• Farewell to Fairacre – 1993
• A Peaceful Retirement – 1996

The first three books (marked with *) have been published in a single volume, Chronicles of Fairacre. The three Christmas books marked with ** have been published together.

• The Market Square (1966) and The Howards of Caxley (1967) are set in the historical past of Caxley, the nearby market town to Fairacre where Fairacre people go from time to time. Fairacre and Beech Green, a nearby village, are mentioned. The events in these books end before the events of the first Fairacre book start.

Thrush Green books:

• Thrush Green – 1959
• Winter in Thrush Green – 1961
• News from Thrush Green – 1970
• Battles at Thrush Green – 1975
• Return to Thrush Green – 1978
• Gossip from Thrush Green – 1981
• Affairs at Thrush Green – 1983
• At Home in Thrush Green – 1985
• School at Thrush Green – 1987
• Friends at Thrush Green – 1990
• Celebrations at Thrush Green – 1992
• Year at Thrush Green – 1995
• Christmas at Thrush Green – 2009 written with Jenny Dereham
• The World of Thrush Green – 1988. This book discusses the real place that inspired Thrush Green and has excerpts from all Thrush Green books published as of 1988.

Children's books:

• Hobby Horse Cottage – 1958
• The Little Red Bus – 1964
• The New Bed – 1964
• No Hat! – 1964
• Plum Pie – 1964
• Hob and the Horse Bat – 1965
• Cluck, the Little Black Hen – 1965
• The Little Peg Doll – 1965
• Tiggy – 1971. A non-fiction biography of one of the author's beloved cats.
• Animal Boy – 1975
• The Little Red Bus and Other Rhyming Stories - 1991 Omnibus containing The Little Red Bus, Cluck the Little Black Hen, Plum Pie, The Little Peg Doll, No Hat!, and The New Bed

Autobiography:

• A Fortunate Grandchild – 1982
• Time Remembered – 1986

These two were also published in an omnibus edition titled Early Days.

Other books she wrote:

• Fresh from the Country – 1960. The story of a young country girl who has taken a first teaching job in the big city.
• Tales from a Village School – 1994. Short stories.
• Miss Read's Country Cooking – 1969. ISBN 0-7181-0327-0
• Mrs Griffin Sends Her Love: and other writings - 2013. A selection of journalism, published posthumously.

External links

• Lisle, Nicola (September 2005). "On the Thrush Green trail". Oxfordshire Limited Edition. Newsquest (Oxfordshire). Archived from the original on 3 November 2005. Retrieved 7 June 2007.

• Appearance on Desert Island Discs - 4 July 1977