Pastures New - Ann Purser

‘This could be the village of our dreams’ says Peggy Palmer to her husband, Frank, when they first enter the beautiful surroundings of Round Ringford. Their dream is to buy the local post office shop and settle into a new, rural way of life.

But it is not going to be easy. First, there is the problem of being the newcomers in a tight-knit community where how long you’ve lived there seems to matter more than who or what you are. Then there is Peggy and Frank’s new neighbour, the unhelpful and malicious Ivy Beasley, lurking behind her lace curtains and waiting for any opportunity to spread gossip. And it is not long before she thinks she finds it – in the guise of Peggy’s burgeoning friendship with Bill Turner.

But Peggy is determined to throw herself into village life and is soon embroiled in the triumphs and upsets, hopes, desires and disasters that beset Round Ringford – until, all too soon, she is faced with a tragedy of her own.