Amazon.com description: Product Description: Far from peaceful, Miss Read's first year of retirement is filled with homespun adventures, as this charming book brings the Fairacre series of novels to a close. Having bid farewell to her pupils at Fairacre School, Miss Read finds herself as busy and in demand as ever, on holiday in Florence, helping with church and school affairs, and offering a kindly ear to her often eccentric neighbors. Soon she is counseling Henry Mawne on his thorny marriage, gently resisting her own perennial suitor, John Jenkins, and, finally, discovering her talent for writing. Once again, Miss Read's affection for the minutiae of village life, her love of nature, and her good humor make her excellent company. Miss Read's many fans will have more to look forward to: the author will continue to add to her Thrush Green series of novels.