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Title: Miss Buncle's Book

Author: D. E. Stevenson

Narrator: Patricia Gallimore

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-18-10

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 260 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The scene of this entertaining story is laid in a charming English village. The plot centres round Miss Barbara Buncle, a maiden lady who was obliged to write a book because as she naively explained her dividends were so poor. Unfortunately, Miss Buncle had no imagination, so she wrote about her friends quite kindly and truthfully, of course, for she was a benevolent and veracious soul.

The reactions of her friends to Miss Buncles book, however, were a little surprising, and the far-reaching and unexpected results of its publication caused quite a stir.

Members Reviews:

So good, I'll read them all!!

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It is a "period piece" actually written in the period. It was written in the thirties - when the vocabulary was prettier, the manners were kinder and the people were gentler. Sometimes I wished I were reading on my Kindle (for the instant dictionary) but then I would have missed the narrator's delivery - which was spot on - she changed voices for all characters. I plan to listen to all available D. E. Stevenson's books. Miss Buncle and her cast of characters were so entertaining and I got a glimpse of life in England in the thirties.

A delightful comedy

Here's hoping BBC makes a miniseries from the wonderful works of D.E. Stevenson. If so, the Miss Buncle books would be the place to start. They are charming tales that any fan of Austen or Gaskell would likely appreciate.

Barbara Buncle is a naive single woman of a certain age who must suddenly find a way to make a living for herself. Deciding that her only option is to write a book, but feeling herself to be sadly lacking in imagination, Barabara writes about her neighbors in the small town of Silverstream- first assuming the pseudonym of John Smith and politely changing the names of all who are mentioned in her tale. Rather than writing the lives of her neighbors exactly, Barbara allows each character to do what she believes they secretly wish to do.

Unfortunately Barbara does such a good job of describing her neighbors that they quickly recognize themselves. While some infuriated townsfolk begin a witch hunt for the slanderous "John Smith," others, including Barbara herself, take the suggestions of the story as an opportunity to embark on new adventures in this humorous tale of fiction becoming fact.

A delight

I am a long time fan of D. E. Stevenson's books, and Miss Buncle's Book was the first I read. I greatly enjoyed the audiobook version, and am delighted to see that Audible released the second in the series, Miss Buncle Married, which I am downloading as I type. Hopefully this will be followed by the third in the series, The Two Mrs Abbotts, which follows Barbara Buncle Abbott and her niece-in-law during WWII.

Charming. Just Charming.

I got tired of waiting to find a reasonably priced Persephone edition of Miss Buncle's Book, about which I had heard so many raves, so I downloaded an audio version. Wonderfully read by Patricia Gallimore, it was a true delight! (And I'm not one who usually cares much for humorous novels.)

Miss Buncle writes and publishes under the pseudonym of John Smith a book based on observations of her fellow villagers, and quite a hoopla erupts as they recognize themselves in 'Distruber of the Peace,' which soon becomes a best-seller.