Do you love D.E. Stevenson as much as I do? 😍📚❤️ If so, I'm co-hosting a DES Read-Along with Sabine and Niki on Instagram and we would be so happy if you'd join us!
HELPFUL INFO:
❊ March 2026: Kate Hardy (Tentative Discussion Date March 28/29th)
❊ April 2026: The Musgraves
❊ May 2026: Five Windows
❊ Hashtag: If you want to tag us (@babsbelovedbooks, @nikilovestoread @sabines.literary.world and @dean_street_press_ltd) in any read-along posts you share on IG, please use the hashtag #BuncleAndBeyond so we won't miss it!
❊ To Join: Simply read along with us and, if you'd like, join our IG discussions at the end of the month. No pressure to do anything else. We will share all information about the date of discussions on our IG posts.
Lucky for us, Dean Street Press has republished 19 of D.E. Stevenson's novels for readers to enjoy! The paperback covers are gorgeous! But, if paperbacks are hard for you to read, it's so awesome that they offer e-book versions, too. Yay! (Isn't it awesome that two more are being published this summer! Check out the covers for Bel Lamington and Fletcher's End!)
HELPFUL LINKS:
- The website, Book Series in Order, also has additional (and interesting) information on Dorothy Emily Stevenson.
- Michelle (@myeclecticshelf on Instagram) also shared this very helpful 'The World of DES" website with our readalong group—thank you!
- Alison's D.E. Stevenson's Characters, Links and Locations page
So far, I've read 45/53 books by D.E. Stevenson...according to the lists I've found. If you see any books I'm missing—please share the title(s) below or send me a DM via Instagram!
I'm really excited to share my vintage and republished DES editions with you! Here they are, along with titles and book ratings!
MY BOOK RATINGS:
Blow the Wind Southerly/The Enchanted Isle/Charlotte Fairlie 5🌟
Rochester’s Wife 5🌟
Katherine Wentworth 5🌟
Katherine’s Marriage 5🌟
The Fair Miss Fortune 5🌟
Green Money 5🌟
Young Mrs. Savage 4.5🌟
The House on the Cliff 5🌟
Blue Sapphire 5🌟
Alister and Co./It’s Nice to Be Me 5🌟 (poetry)
Sarah Morris Remembers 5🌟
Sarah's Cottage 4🌟
Bel Lamington 4🌟
Fletcher's End 5🌟
Vittoria Cottage 5🌟
Music in the Hills 3🌟
Winter and Rough Weather 4🌟
Anna & Her Daughters 4.5🌟
Kate Hardy 4🌟
Golden Days 4🌟
Mrs. Tim of the Regiment 5🌟
Mrs. Tim Carries On 4🌟
Mrs. Tim Gets a Job 4🌟
Mrs. Tim Flies Home 4.5🌟
The Baker’s Daughter/Miss Bun 4.5🌟
Miss Buncle’s Book 4🌟
Miss Buncle Married 4🌟
The Two Mrs. Abbots 4.5🌟
The Four Graces 4.5🌟
Gerald and Elizabeth 4🌟
Amberwell 4🌟
Summerhills 4🌟
Celia's House 4🌟
Listening Valley 5🌟
Still Glides the Stream 4🌟
Spring Magic 3🌟
The Musgraves 4🌟
Peter West 3.5🌟
Emily Dennistoun 4🌟
The Tall Stranger 4.5🌟
Rosabelle Shaw 3.75🌟
Crooked Adam 3🌟
The House of the Deer 2🌟
TBR:
Five Windows
The Empty World/A World in Spell
Found in the Attic
Smouldering Fire
Jean Erekin’s Secret
Portrait of Saskia
The Starry Mantle (poetry)
Meadow-flowers (poetry)
(Note: Some of the books in the TBR list above were also republished by Greyladies or Lume Books and, if you're lucky, can be found online via Ebay, Abebooks, ThriftBooks, Mercari, Etsy, Biblio, World of Books, or Amazon.)
FAVORITE QUOTES FROM DES:
"I write all my books in longhand, lying on a sofa near the window in my drawing room. I begin by thinking it all out and then I take a pencil and jot it all down in a notebook. When that stage is over I begin at the beginning and go on like mad until I get to the end. After that I have a little rest and then polish it up and rewrite bits of it. When I can do no more to it I pack it up, smother the parcel with sealing wax, and despatch it to be typed. I am now free as air and somewhat dazed, so I ring up all my friends (who have been neglected for months) and say, 'Come and have a party.'"
"Friends are like windows in a house, a what a terribly dull house it would be that had no windows. They open vistas, they show one new and lovely views of the countryside. Friends give one new ideas, new values, new interests. Thank God for friends!"
"Someday I mean to write a book of reminiscences; to delve into my cupboard of memory and sort out all the junk. There is so much to write about, so many little pictures grave and gay, so many ideas to think about and disentangle and arrange. Looking back is a fascinating pastime; looking back and wondering what one's life would have been if one had done this instead of that, if one had turned left at the crossroads instead of to the right, if one had stayed at home instead of going out or had gone out five minutes later."
I hope February treated you well, book friends! I would love to hear your favorite DES titles! Let me know in the comments!
I'll leave things here with a photo of the snow (at least a foot and a half and more on the way!) at our place in New Hampshire. Crossing my fingers that you'll join our D.E. Stevenson read-along for March, April and/or May! 🥰📕
Happy Reading and Tons of Hugs!! 💕❄️🤗❄️💕
