Thrush Green, Miss Read
Thrush Green, Miss Read
List: $15.75 | Sale: $11.03
Club: $7.87

Thrush Green
A Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation

Author: Miss Read

Narrator: Adam Godley, Anna Massey, Ian Masters, John Rowe, Trevor Peacock, Annette Badland, Marcia Warren, Linda Bassett, Janet Maw, Maggie McCarthy, Geoffrey Whitehead, Teresa Gallagher, June Barrie, Lynne Verrall, Anny Tobin, Full Cast

Unabridged: 5 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/12/2026


Synopsis

Wonderful comedy drama adapted from the beloved novels featuring an all-star cast Welcome to Thrush Green, a small and peaceful village in the Cotswolds, where everything and nothing happens. This wonderful, gentle comedy features and all-star cast including Adam Godley (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Anna Massey (Rebecca), Geoffrey Whitehead (Poirot) and Trevor Peacock (The Vicar of Dibley). Over two series we follow the highs and lows of village life in this 60s village.In series one, a young doctor comes to Thrush Green on the day of the spring fair and causes a stir. A host of unforgettable characters, from the school mistress to the church sexton, show that village life is far from quiet and challenges, secret love affairs, and even trials can make the seemingly most peaceful of villages teem with intrigue and delight. In the second series, we return to Thrush Green our familiar cast of characters is mixed with some new faces. When a young woman arrives in a red mini with her son in tow, confirmed bachelor Harold is smitten. The vicar is battling with not only a crumbling rectory but also an unexpected crisis and who will take care of Dotty Harmer’s animals when she is taken ill?Written in the 1960s by Dora Saint, under the pen name Miss Read, these charming stories are laced with gentle humour and subtle social commentary. If you are fan of Barbara Pym or E.M. Delafield, then this is the perfect listen for you. A treat from the archive not to be missed. Cast and credits Series 1 Written by Miss ReadDramatised by Lesley BruceDirected by Clare Grove and Marylin ImrieDoctor Lovell - Adam GodleyDotty Harmer - Anna Massey Ella Bembridge - Maggie McCarthyDimity Dean - Janet MawDr Bailey - Terence EdmondMrs Bailey - Marlene SidawayMiss Fogerty - Marcia WarrenMiss Watson - Linda BassetCharles Henstock - Ian MastersHarold Shoosmith - John RoweAlbert Piggott - Trevor PeacockNelly Tiling - Annette BadlandMrs Butler - Ann BeachMrs Cooke - Colleen PrendergastWillie/Mulloy - Paul Ritter PC - Ben CroweWitness - Harry MyersMiss Potter - Tilly GauntRay - Christopher ScottMrs White/Kathleen - Jillie MeersRobert/Edward - Andrew HarrisonFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 24th May - 28th Jun 1999 Series 2 Written by Miss ReadDramatised by Nick WarburtonDirected by Mary Peate and Marylin ImrieCharles Henstock - Ian MastersElla Bembridge - Salina CadwellDimity Dean - Janet MawHarold - Geoffrey WhiteheadPhil - Teresa GallagherBetty - June BarrieFrank - Andrew Harrison Anthony - Duncan BellIsobel - Dinah StabbWinnie - Marlene SidawayDr Lovell - Adam Godley Dotty Harmer - Anna MasseyAlbert Piggott - Trevor PeacockNelly Tiling - Annette BadlandMolly - Alison PettitBen - Tom GeorgeWillie - Paul Ritter Miss Potter - Tilly GauntRay - Christopher ScottMrs White/Kathleen - Jillie MeersJenny - Rachel AtkinsPercy - Geoffrey GreenhillFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 3rd Apr - 8th May 2000©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

About Miss Read

Miss Read, or in real life Dora Saint, was a teacher by profession who started writing after the second world war, beginning with light essays written for Punch and other journals. She then wrote on educational and country matters and worked as a scriptwriter for the BBC. Miss Read was married to a schoolmaster for sixty-four years until his death in 2004, and they had one daughter. Miss Read was awarded an MBE in the 1998 New Year Honours list for her services to literature, She was the author of many immensely popular books, including two autobiographical works, but it was her novels of English rural life for which she was best known. The first of these Village School, was published in 1955, and Miss Read continued to write about the fictional villages of Fairacre and Thrush Green for many years. She lived near Newbury in Berkshire until her death in 2012.Four plays based on her work have been written by Ron Perry, Miss Read's Thrush Green, Miss Read Remembered, Return to Thrush Green and The Village School.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cindy on January 31, 2023

Dated—for sure! All the more reason to enjoy this unique book in the Thrush Green series. I say unique because it is a delightful, eventful one May Day fair day in Thrush Green and magic abounds.......more

Goodreads review by Cera on December 25, 2011

Cozy novels of village life are my favourite comfort reading, and I only wish I could find more of them. This is the sort of book in which _nothing happens_ except on a personal level -- people argue and then mend fences, gardens grow, seasons change, boys make friends, and occasionally there's a ro......more

Goodreads review by Beth on January 30, 2018

This is my first Miss Read novel - I don’t count Christmas at Thrush Green - and now I understand why so many of my friends are devotees of the series. It’s a delicious slice of Cotswold village life in the 1950s, in which a cross-section of people from various ages and classes rub along together mo......more