Winter in Thrush Green by Miss Read

I am so enjoying the Thrush Green Series I have embarked on as part of a monthly instagram hashtag project called ‘Missreadalong’, run by Bag Full of Books  and Book Musings.  Winter in Thrush Green was the book for February and it could’t have come at a better time as February in the UK was very wintery indeed.  I read it in below zero temperatures with snow on the ground and it felt very right!

The previous book in the series Thrush Green concluded at the end of the famous May Fair.  We had been introduced to the many characters who make up the village of Thrush Green and was given a lovely introduction to the gentle way of life in the pretty Cotswold Village.

Winter in Thrush Green brings together many of these characters, developing stories and relationships which had begun in the last book, whilst introducing us to some new ones too.

It is perhaps the relationships which are the stand out feature of this book.  Friendships between the two school teachers go from strength to strength after an unexpected event in the village school.  Ella and Dimity continue to rub along together.  Ella’s forceful nature and Dimity’s more gentle one sees their friendship grow and change as romance comes along in an unexpected way.  Romance also blossoms for the dreadful church warden Arthur Piggot as he realises he is no match for the determined Nellie.

Perhaps the most prominent new arrival in the village and the story is Harold Shoesmith.  He arrives rather enigmatically from ‘somewhere foreign’ and causes quite a stir particularly amongst some of the female members of the community.  He is soon drawn into village life, taking part in a  mission of mercy as he rescues the eccentric Winnie from her snowbound cottage.  He also finds himself serving on all manner of committees alongside his new friend the Rector.  I particularly enjoyed the supportive nature of Harold and the Rectors relationship.  Male relationships are so often played out as blokeish or jokey in literature.  This is neither.  It is a relationship built on mutual respect and enjoyment of one another’s company.  The support they give one another is so refreshing.

The descriptions of nature and wildlife are as beautiful as ever and reading this allowed time to stand still for a short while as with Ella and Dimity, and Doctor and Mrs Bailey, and Winnie, we as readers are given the opportunity to gaze upon the changing seasons. One of my favourite passages in the book describes Thrush Green on Christmas Eve.

“But away from the lights and worries of the town the quiet hills lay beneath a velvety sky.  No wind rustled the trees and no bird disturbed the nights tranquility.  Sheep still roamed the slopes as they had that memorable night so long ago in Palestine, and low on the horizon a great star, bright as a jewel still held out an eternal promise to mankind”

I have said it before and will no doubt say it again, as I continue to enjoy this series, this is not an action packed book but it is filled with events both big and small in the lives of a group of villagers I am greatly enjoying becoming acquainted with.

You can see my reviews of the other books I have read in the Miss Read Thrush Green series here and here