Christmas At Fairacre by Miss Read

Christmas At Fairacre was a new find this year, thanks to Carrie. Until I received this book I'd never heard of Miss Read of the Fairacre books, even though they have been around for over fifty years.

Miss Read is the nom de plume of Dora Jessie Saint, a schoolteacher and English novelist born in in 1913. Miss Read penned more than forty books between 1956 and 1996, including twenty-one novels set in the fictional village of Fairacre. Christmas At Fairacre is, as you might guess, the compilation of three of these novels, all set during the Christmas season: Village Christmas (c)1966, The Christmas Mouse (c) 1973, and No Holly for Miss Quinn (c)1976.

In the Village Christmas, spinster sisters Margaret and Mary Waters and the rest of Fairacre must welcome some new neighbors, the Emery family. At first it seems that the Emery family will never fit into the close knit community -- they are too modern, too friendly, too different. But Margaret, Mary, and the rest of Fairacre find their hearts warming to the Emerys after some special and exciting events unfold on Christmas day. At 51 pages, this story is more a short story than a novel and could easily be read in one sitting.

The Christmas Mouse centers around Mrs. Berry, her widowed daughter Mary Fuller, and Mary's two young daughters. It is Christmas Eve and a visit from two very different Christmas mice make for a very special and unforgettable holiday. This story is a little longer at 128 pages, but an easy and enjoyable read.

No Holly for Miss Quinn opens as Miriam Quinn, a single working woman in her mid 30s, is planning to spend her Christmas holiday alone without any fuss or feast. Instead of making merry, Miriam plans to re-paint her sitting room. That is... until she receives a call from her older brother asking for her help. Up to this point Miriam has lived a very solitary existence and is prone to selfishness and prejudices, but she sets aside her wants and heads off to help her brother and his family in their time of need. During the course of her visit Miriam learns many lessons that change her life forever. At 121 pages, this story is also an easy and enjoyable read, and could be finished in one sitting, though it took a little longer for me.

In summary, I liked each of the stories in Christmas At Fairacre for different reasons, but the one story I thought I'd like the least -- No Holly for Miss Quinn -- I ended up liking the best. At first I thought Miss Quinn was a selfish hermit of a woman, but her experiences over Christmas melt her heart and clear away her prejudices making her a better woman. On a lesser note, Miss Read gives a nod to an every day hero in this story, the stay-at-home mother. Juggling the life of a working woman and a stay-at-home mother and wife this particularly touched me.

I liked Miss Read's writing. She paints vivid and delightful pictures and her characters and settings are warm and comfortable like old friends. The Christmas spirit is evident throughout the stories making this book a fun and modern holiday classic. I read that Jane Austen was a strong influence to Miss Read, which I can sort of see, but if asked I would be more likely to compare her writing with that of Jan Karon. If you enjoyed The Mitford Series you will enjoy The Fairacre Series.

On a scale of one to five, one being awful and five being excellent I would rate Christmas At Fairacre a four. It wasn't an all-time favorite, but I still really enjoyed the book and plan to read more of Miss Read's novels. This is a book that could be enjoyed borrowed or bought.

Lost Laysen by Margaret Mitchell

For years it was believed that the world would only ever be able to read one work by Margaret Mitchell, her famous epic novel, Gone With the Wind. At some time prior to her death, Ms. Mitchell asked her husband and brother to promise to destroy all her personal letters and journals as well as all her unpublished writings, including the original draft of Gone With the Wind. Upon her death most were destroyed by her husband and the job was finished by her brother after her husband's death. It was a tragedy.

And then in 1996 the son of a family friend discovered a box full of letters, pictures and a novella written by Margaret Mitchell in the attic of his home. It had apparently been given by Margaret to her then beau, Henry Love Angel just before her 16th birthday. The novella was titled, Lost Laysen.

Lost Laysen was published the same year it was discovered, but I only just stumbled upon it. I read Gone With the Wind a few years ago and I loved it, so having found another book by Mitchell I was very excited and couldn't wait to pick it up. Although I found Lost Laysen to be an interesting and tragic story it is nothing to be compared with Mitchell's epic novel, but then Lost Laysen was written by Mitchell as a teenager, so I suppose it can be excused and enjoyed for what it is.

As a novella written by a 16-year old the story is rather impressive. Lost Laysen is an adventure/romance told in the first person by an Irish sailor, Bill Duncan. It tells of his lost love, Courtenay Ross, a beautiful little American lady, who he meets when she sails to the South Pacific island of Laysen to take be a missionary. It also tells of his rival, an American gentleman, Douglas Steele and of a Japanese/Spanish villain, Juan Mardo. Although the story is told by a rough-seafaring man it is only sprinkled lightly with one swear word and a minor one at that. One should also be warned that Mitchell's writing does lean towards somewhat of a prejudice against the Japanese/Chinese people living in the area of Laysen. Elements of Lost Laysen do bring to mind elements in Gone With the Wind, but they are very slight.

The copy of Lost Laysen that I borrowed from my library also contained a brief biography of Margaret Mitchell, or "Peggy" as she liked to be called. It also included several of the photographs found in the box and some of the letters written by Peggy to Henry Angel. I found all of this to be very interesting and it helped me to understand where Mitchell was as a person during the time she wrote Lost Laysen. My borrowed copy was 127 pages, but that included the introduction, editor's note, the aforementioned biographical and photographic information, and an index. The story itself is a mere four chapters and approximately 58 pages long.

For those interested in a short adventure story by Margaret Mitchell this is definitely a worthwhile read and could be finished in one sitting. I wouldn't suggest buying a copy of the book unless you are an avid fan of Mitchell. Local libraries should have a copy, but if they don't inexpensive copies are available online.