D.E. Stevenson was a prolific and beloved writer who lived from 1892 – 1973, though her first book was published in 1923. She wrote character-centered books like the Mrs. Tim series – a series that I have read dozens of times in a state of hypnotized bliss despite the fact that nothing much happens in it. She also wrote more dramatic romances and mysteries, such as Smoldering Fire and The Young Clementina. If there’s one single book that our family loves more than any other D.E. Stevenson book, it’s the gently hilarious Miss Buncle’s Book, which was originally published in 1934.
Miss Buncle’s Book is about Miss Buncle, a woman who falls upon hard economic times and decides to write her way out of them. Miss Buncle writes a book titled Disturber of the Peace about a small English village called Copperfield. She publishes it under the name “John Smith.” She fills this imaginary village with characters who are quite settled in their rather humdrum lives until a piper comes to town and sets an enchantment upon it. Suddenly everyone in Copperfield begins seeing life in a whole new way – two women run off to Samarkand together, a confirmed bachelor proposes to his neighbor, an abused wife leaves her husband for another man, etc.
The book is a hit, which is great for Miss Buncle. However, she does have a serious problem. Miss Buncle is a firm believer in the “write what you know” principle and when she wrote her book she based every character on people who live in her own village, Silverstream. Because she described the residents of Silverstream in such detail, changing nothing but the names, her neighbors recognize themselves as soon as they get hold of the book.
Disturber of the Peace plays the same role in the very real Silverstream that the piper plays in the fictional Copperfield. Most people are furious to see themselves in the book. Others are amused, and a few remain clueless. As the people of the village try to figure out who among them is “John Smith,” they start to break their old habits – often in ways just like their counterparts in Disturber of the Peace. Meanwhile, Miss Buncle keeps her head down, tries to avoid suspicion, and works on a sequel. This brings her into frequent contact with her publisher, Mr. Abbott – a single man of great practicality and kindness.
Miss Buncle’s Book isn’t exactly a romance. It’s more of a commentary about romance – both ‘romance’ in the sense of romantic love and ‘romance’ in the sense of adventure and change. There’s a romance between Miss Buncle and Mr. Abbott and several others as well. There are happily and unhappily married couples, and the descriptions of those couples in conversation says volumes about the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships.
For the most part, Miss Buncle’s Book is not a laugh out loud book. Its humor is gentle and understated but very funny nonetheless. It’s also a delightful ode to the power of the written word. Miss Buncle has no intention of doing anything other than raising some funds (she considers raising hens as an alternative) but once she starts writing, she can’t stop, and once people start reading her book, they can’t stop reading. Pretty soon they are acting out dreams they may not have even known they had, as though the act of reading about people doing amazing things makes amazing things possible. Even Miss Buncle finds herself acting more like her fictional and more stylish counterpart, Elizabeth Wade.
Catnip alert: the romance between Miss Buncle and Mr. Abbott takes place between two middle-aged people (or at least people who feel middle aged by the standards of the time), as does the romance between Colonel Weatherhead and Dorothea. One might also delight in reading between the lines of the relationship between Miss King and Miss Pretty, longtime roommates who are clearly devoted to each other. There are no passionate love scenes in the book, although readers are scandalized by a passionate love scene in Disturber of the Peace.
Despite not involving scenes in which the earth moves, the fates of all the characters are quite satisfying. Indeed, this book is so satisfying that whenever I finish it I feel almost smug. While the book has multiple sequels, I keep returning to this first installment and Miss Buncle’s newfound romance with writing.
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A character named Dorothea? Click!
I love Miss Buncle’s Book! I haven’t read it in awhile…it’s probably time for a reread 🙂
One of my DIKs – so good to see it being talked about.
For some reason when I started this book I was under the impression it was going to be a murder mystery like an Agatha Christie. I really enjoyed the book but I spent the whole time waiting for someone to be murdered!
I may have to try this one again. I DNF’d it a couple years ago – I just couldn’t get into it. I wanted to like it, but it was soooo sloooowww. My attention span keeps getting shorter as I get older – I’ve noticed that I can re-read old favorites that are similar, and my affection for them and memory that something good will eventually happen can get me through them. But not so much for new to me books.
This book is a delight. I often times tandem read it with Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis. Not that the books are anything alike, except for being funny and of a different time period than our own.
OMG, I love D. E. Stevenson! When you read a bunch of her, characters occasionally pop up from another of her books. She does go to the weird sometimes. But I enjoy her sense of fun.
I adore the Miss Buncle books
It is currently in reprint from Persephone Books in the U.K. if you’re looking for a new copy…
And their editions are GORGEOUS!
http://www.persephonebooks.co.uk/miss-buncle-s-book.html
Have to put this in the must read pile.
I read this recently for the first time and loved it! And I gushed so much about it that an online book buddy sent me several more D.E. Stevenson books to read. Win-win!
I read this for the first time a few months ago and absolutely loved it. I went on to the sequel, Miss Buncle Married, which is also enjoyable, but not as good as the first book. Now it sounds as if I’ll have to read the Mrs. Tim books.
I found this about a year ago and have subsequently ordered more D.E. Stevenson books (some old ones from ebay in addition to reissue). Such a quirky, fun writer and provides a great historical perspective. Your site recommended Testament of Youth, which is awesome, but much heavier read. Evokes many of the same issues/challenges though.
Aaaand … Now I know that the population of my small town includes at least one SMTB reader, because when I went dashing to the library catalog to see if we own Miss Buncle’s Book, I found it listed as In Transit, meaning that someone nipped in ahead of me.
Fortunately, we have two copies.
No, I don’t know why my fingers typed SM for SB. Oops. Um. Er.
I love D.E. Stevenson. If you happen to be near a small town, not very well funded library, you can sometimes find her old hardcovers still on the shelves because they haven’t deaccessioned anything. Also a church book sale I used to go to every year was a good source.
Just recently I read “Amberwell” which is a story about a British family before and during World War II, it’s .99 on Amazon. Imagine my delight when I found out there is a post-war sequel called “Summerhills” Imagine my dismay when I found out it’s not available as an e-book, and the cheapest used paperback is $97.80! It is available on Audible though.
My favorite D.E. Stevenson book is The English Air. It is a romance without an ending because it was written during the war, and no one knew how that would turn out. So the hero and heroine are left hanging, but I like to imagine him coming back to her and their living HEA.
Every now and then one turns up for a reasonable price and I snap them up at once. I have all the Miss Buncle books and the three Scottish books, which I read and reread. I was so happy when they turned them into Kindle books because then I could quit haunting the used book stores and library book sales.
Thank you for the recommendation. I found that my library’s hoopla service has quite a few of Stevenson’s books, so I get to read it today!
Miss Buncle’s Book was my first D.E. Stevenson and it was delightful! Also enjoyed the sequel Miss Buncle’s Marriage. I wish Sourcebooks would republish more of her books here in the US beyond the few they have done so far.
If you like D.E. Stevenson check out Elizabeth Cadell!
I’ve been a huge D.E. Stevenson fan for many years, I think I started reading her when I was a teenager, back in the 70’s. I’m absolutely delighted whenever I hear someone else loves her books, so many thanks for this review!
@Emma-I ordered my copy of Miss Buncle’s Book from Persephone-I cannot say enough how much I love this edition! I’ve ordered quite a few books from them, and they are always beautiful.
@Karin-I used to make it a point to take out every D.E. Stevenson book from my local library once a year, in the hopes of keeping them on the shelves. Sadly, I found they had pulled them off anyway! I was so upset. Luckily more and more of her books are being reprinted, so I am able to get my hands on them. Are you in the US? I think most libraries have the Inter Library Loan feature, so you may be able to get a copy of Summerhill that way, if you wanted the actual book version.
My favorites of her books are the Mrs. Tim series, and Shoulder the Sky. I hope more people try her books, they are real comfort reads.
Thanks @Maureen, I am in the US and I may try that inter library loan.
Third in the series is The Two Mrs Abbotts, set during WWII.
My favorite Stevensons (so far) are The House on the Cliff and The Four Graces. She is prone to the trope where the heroine learns to see through the obvious attractions of a young (but often malicious) hottie in order to appreciate the solid worth of an older man. Which suits me fine.
Second the Cadell recommendation; my favorite of hers is Honey for Tea.
Love Elizabeth Cadell’s books. One of my lovely “discoveries” while wandering through the library stacks one afternoon decades ago.
And Elizabeth Cadell has an ENORMOUS backlist, so she’ll keep you busy for quite some time!
@Sheri, it’s great to see you here, I want to tell how much I love your books, especially “The Weaver Takes a Wife”.
I read Miss Buncle’s Book as a result of this thread, and it was delightful. Really soothing.
@Jacq-I’m so happy you liked the book. If you want soothing, the Mrs. Tim series of hers are so good-funny and sweet.
D.E. Stevenson saved me a few years back when I needed to see intelligent, humorous people could be good and kind and true in an imperfect world. I read my way through her entire backlist and then placed it in two shelves of honor in my book collection sort of the way you would put a vase of flowers in a room.