As I make my way through my TBR list, I’m finding books that I’ve completely forgotten about and come as a delightful surprise to read. Miss Buncle’s Book is one of them.

Barbara Buncle is in desperate straits. Her dividends have decreased to the point where they really aren’t enough and she has to think of something that can bring in an income. She turns to writing, but as she says, she hasn’t any imagination and her book, Disturber of the Peace, is based on the people in her village of Silverstream. Unfortunately for the people in the village, Disturber of the Peace is hugely popular and a few of them are determined to hunt down the author of the book.

This book was unexpectedly charming. It’s basically about a village thrown into an uproar over a book and how the different people react to it. Barbara Buncle is a very naive soul – she just writes what she knows and while she didn’t write the book as satire, the people in the village recognise the deadly accurate characters and are out for blood. It was pretty funny to see how Miss Buncle handled everything and how her insights managed to change the community.

I loved the characters here because they were all so vividly written and I can see this playing out in real life. My favourites were Miss Buncle, Sarah Walker, the doctor’s wife, and Sally, the granddaughter of the cranky neighbour next door. Miss Buncle because she is delightfully naive and perceptive at the same time, Sarah for her calm head, and Sally because she’s a breath of youth and fresh air in her grandmother’s house. All the characters feel real, but the others can be quite unpleasant. I’d rather be friends with these three.

This actually reminds me of the Fairacre series. As with Fairacre, this book is about life in an English village and focuses on its inhabitants rather than on the plot. Sure, things happen, but the best part of these books are its characters. If you’re looking for something charming to read, I would recommend definitely recommend this.