"Miss Buncle's Book" by D.E. Stevenson (re-read)

2024 marks 10 (!) years since dh & I first ran into a group of women who turned out to be fans of the mid-century Scottish author D.E. Stevenson, a favourite from my teenage years. (Coincidentally, we were all touring the home of another lifelong favourite author of mine, L.M. Montgomery!)  As described in this 2015 post, they invited me to join their online group -- which I happily did -- and I have been reading and chatting about Stevenson's books with them ever since then.  

One of the first books on the agenda after I joined the group was "Miss Buncle's Book," one of Stevenson's early novels (first published in 1934), and probably one of her better-known works. (I reviewed that book in January 2015, here.) You know you've been around a long time when you start re-reading the books you were reading 10 years ago (!) -- and "Miss Buncle's Book" is (once again) our latest choice.    

Diminishing dividends (1934 = the Great Depression) have forced quiet, unassuming, guileless Miss Barbara Buncle  to look for ways to increase her income -- and so she decides to write a book. The cardinal rule of writing, of course, is "write about what you know" -- and Barbara's book, the aptly named "Disturber of the Peace," turns out to be a thinly disguised portrait of her hometown, Silverstream, and its residents (under different names).  To Barbara's surprise and delight, affable publisher Arthur Abbott agrees to publish her book (under the pseudonym "John Smith").  To her even greater surprise, it becomes an instant bestseller -- particularly in Silverstream, where the enraged residents immediately recognize themselves and set out to learn John Smith's true identity. Each chapter features a different Silverstream resident, his or her reaction to the book, and what happens to them after they've read it. 

"Miss Buncle's Book" has all the hallmarks of a classic DES novel.  They are very much products of the time & place they were written -- a little old-fashioned, perhaps -- but well-crafted, funny, charming romances, comedies of manners and family dramas featuring engaging characters and lovely descriptions of the natural world.  I can easily see this one as mini-series on PBS -- period appropriate, of course.  :) 

As is my usual practice, I read the book before our chapter-by-chapter group read & discussion on Oct. 7th.  Correction:  I TRIED to read the book before we started -- didn't quite make the deadline, but it's a quick, easy read and not very long, so I was done before we covered Chapter 3. :)  I'll count it as a re-read once we finish our group discussion, in mid-December.  

Stevenson wrote two sequels to "Miss Buncle's Book" -- "Miss Buncle Married" and "The Two Mrs. Abbotts,"  both of which are on our list of upcoming reads for 2025-26 (and both of which I previously reviewed here).  (My previous reviews of those books here and here.)  So is "The Four Graces," where Miss Buncle makes a brief cameo appearance. (My review.) 

I wasn't on Goodreads the first time I read this book, but I retroactively logged it and assigned it a 4-star rating. That rating still stands.  :)   

This was Book #29 read to date in 2024 (and Book #2 finished in October), bringing me to 64%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 5 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."