Miss Buncle's Book

De: D. E. Stevenson

Narrado por: Patricia Gallimore

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 Buncle’s book, however, were a little surprising, and the far-reaching and unexpected results of its publication caused quite a stir.

©1934 D. E. Stevenson (P)2010 Soundings

Charming and Superbly Written

This was my very first D.E. Stevenson novels and remains one of my favorite. It is completely charming and very well-written. The plotline and character development is masterfully wrought. I'm very pleased with the audio version.

Gentle Satire is the best in a well written book

I love a gentle book about a small village with a group of families. Jane Austen said it best, didn't she? Now add wonderful satire. Miss Buncle needs to make some money, so she writes a book, published under the name of John Smith. She innocently writes characters based on the people in the village, but writes them as they really are, not as they want themselves to be seen. The villagers are wanting to sue for libel because the character is obviously them --- but of course it is not them. It's great fun.

Delightful!

Such a fun and delightful book! Patricia Gallimore does a fantastic job narrating this English gem!

What a fun, easy story to listen to!

I enjoyed the narrator and how she changed voices. I like the character development and the self-realization of the characters when faced with an unerring depiction of themselves.

Characters Aplenty!

Wonderful characters of an English village set in a fun and funny plot. The humor is delightful!

Normally I don't LOL...

If you could sum up Miss Buncle's Book in three words, what would they be?

Need more words!

What about Patricia Gallimore’s performance did you like?

She portrayed the characters as over-the-top as the author probably meant them to be.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, unless you mean "moved to laughter"!

Any additional comments?

This is an old book, and I recently decided to listen to it again. I'm an old lady myself, and needed to listen to a soothing book about days past when there wasn't so much turmoil. Well, I'd forgotten about the turmoil that Barbara Buncle stirred up when she wrote a book about the people living in her small English village! I doubt if young people would like this book because they can't imagine life without many of our modern conveniences, not to mention what life was like in England in the earlier part of the 20th century. But if you're not so young, give it a try!

Like a classic screwball comedy

Wonderful narration with so many characters. If you enjoy films from the 30’s and 40’s, you will find this listen fun and entertaining.

Amazing book!

I have returned to this story many times over the years. One of my absolute favorites!

fun read

This was a nice story for something just fun and easy to follow. Liked it.

A Charming Delight!

The inhabitants of a small village in England read a new best seller and they are shocked to find they're reading about themselves!

Barbara Buncle's finances need a boost. The dividends she'd relied dwindled. Times are so tough that she decides to try to write a book as a way to earn money. Since she doesn't have much of a creative imagination, Miss Buncle relies on her observation skills and writes stories about those living around her in the town of Silverstream, changing the names of the villagers. When the book is published and sells well, the upset villagers try hard to discover the identity of the author. Will Barbara have to move?

First published in 1934, this is a sweet, pleasant read. I've read it twice in two years, and have enjoyed several other D.E. Stevenson books as well. I highly recommend Miss Buncle's Book!