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

My D.E. Stevenson online fan group recently wrapped up our chapter-by-chapter reading and discussion of "Miss Buncle’s Book" (an early DES novel, first published in 1934), which began in early October.

(I first read this book not long after I joined the group back in 2014 -- my original 2015 review is here.  I re-read the book myself before our group read began, and that more recent review is  here.) 

Quiet, guileless, unassuming Miss Barbara Buncle has been forced to look for ways to increase her income, as her dividends have been rapidly shrinking (no doubt because it's the Great Depression).  She decides to try her hand at writing a book -- which turns out to be a thinly disguised portrait of Silverstream (the village where she lives) and its residents (all assigned different names, but still highly recognizable). 

Not only does Barbara's book (aptly named "Disturber of the Peace") immediately find a publisher, it becomes a bestseller -- nowhere more so than in Silverstream, where the enraged residents immediately recognize themselves and set out to learn the true identity of the author (who goes by the obvious pseudonym of "John Smith"). 

"Miss Buncle's Book" is a classic DES novel, often the first one by this author that people read.  Stevenson's books 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.  (This book in particular contains a lot of social satire!)  I can easily see this one as mini-series on PBS.  :) 

Stevenson wrote two sequels to "Miss Buncle's Book" -- "Miss Buncle Married" and "The Two Mrs. Abbotts,"  both of which are on our schedule 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.) 

Our next book, however, will be "Peter West" -- Stevenson's first published novel from 1923, which originally appeared in serial format, and was republished in 2013. It's the one DES book the group has not read in its 26 years of existence!  We'll begin in January. 

I wasn't on Goodreads the first time I read "Miss Buncle's Book" in early 2015, but I retroactively logged it and assigned it a 4-star rating. I kept that rating when I re-read the book earlier this fall, and it still stands now.  :)   

4 stars on both Goodreads & StoryGraph. 

This was Book #34 read to date in 2024 (and Book #2 finished in December), bringing me to 76%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 8 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."