War arrives in rural Barsetshire.

'You read her, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own' New York Times

It is summer 1939 and the social event of the year is about to take place: Rose Birkett, a flighty beauty with a penchant for breaking engagements and hearts, is finally getting married, and the whole village - her parents included - breathes a sigh of relief.

By autumn, however, summer weddings seem a distant memory as war reaches Barsetshire. While the younger generation throws itself into the war effort with cheerful aplomb, older residents keenly remember the last war, and are fearful.

When an entire London school of evacuees arrive, as well as a number of refugees, the village rallies round to house them. Some inhabitants, though, don't exactly welcome the newcomers with open arms.

First published in 1940, Cheerfulness Breaks In is a humorous yet poignant picture of wartime arriving in a close-knit English community.