{"title":"Books by H. E. Bates","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780141029672","title":"The Darling Buds of May","description":"\u003cb\u003e'Home looks nice. Allus does though, don't it? Perfick'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd so the Larkins - Pop, Ma, Mariette, Zinnia, Petunia, Primrose, Victoria and Montgomery - return from an outing for fish and chips and ice cream one May evening. There, amid the rustic charms of home, they discover a visitor: one Cedric Charlton, Her Majesty's inspector of taxes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMr Charlton is visiting to find out why junk-dealer Pop hasn't paid his tax - but nothing's that simple at the Larkins. Mariette takes a shine to 'Charley' - as Pop calls him - and before long the family have introduced the uncomplaining inspector to the delights of country living: the lusty scents of wild flowers, the pleasures of a bottle of Dragon's Blood, cold cream dribbled over a bowl of strawberries and hot, hot summer nights.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn fact, soon Charley can't see any reason to return to the office at all . . .\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201435500722,"sku":"9780141029672","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141029672.jpg?v=1786011586"},{"product_id":"9780141029689","title":"When the Green Woods Laugh","description":"\u003cp\u003eTake a trip to Larkin country in the much-loved series, inspiration for the ITV drama \u003ci\u003eTHE LARKINS\u003c\/i\u003e starring Bradley Walsh\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'There!' Pop said. 'There's the house. There's Gore Court for you. What about that, eh? How's that strike you? Better than St Paul's, ain't it, better than St Paul's?'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd so Pop Larkin - junk-dealer, family man and Dragon's Blood connoisseur - manages to sell the nearby crumbling, tumbling country home to city dwellers Mr and Mrs Jerebohm for a pretty bundle of notes. Now he can build his daughter Mariette the pool she's long been nagging him for.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut the Larkin's new neighbours aren't quite so accepting of country ways - especially Pop's little eccentricities.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn fact, it's not long before a wobbly boat, a misplaced pair of hands and Mrs Jerebohm's behind have Pop up before a magistrate . . .\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201461518514,"sku":"9780141029689","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141029689.jpg?v=1786011588"},{"product_id":"9780141029665","title":"Oh! to be in England","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoin the Larkins for another adventure in the much-loved series, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003einspiration for the new ITV drama starring Bradley Walsh\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e'Christening? We never said nothing about no christening, Ma, did we?'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd so with the appearance of a letter announcing the imminent arrival of Madame Dupont, Pop and Ma Larkin learn that little Oscar and Blenheim - Charley and Mariette's new boy - are to be christened.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn fact, once Mr Candy - who will be officiating (much to raven-haired Primrose's delight) - learns that Pop and Ma have neglected the entire Larkin brood, the whole family seems set for a dunking!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePop, who needs no excuse to open a few bottles of Dragon's Blood and host the perfick party, rushes out and buys a fun fair to celebrate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut there are one or two gatecrashers even Pop hadn't counted on turning up . . .\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224242270581,"sku":"9780141029665","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141029665_bd15f427-4323-42c2-bfd4-8c4c36fb6490.jpg?v=1786011585"},{"product_id":"9780141029641","title":"A Breath of French Air","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTake a perfick trip to France in the second book of this much-loved series, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003einspiration for the ITV drama \u003ci\u003eTHE LARKINS\u003c\/i\u003e starring Bradley Walsh\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'I should like to go to France,' \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003esaid Ma.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'God Almighty,' \u003c\/b\u003ePop said.\u003cb\u003e 'What for?'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'For a holiday of course,' \u003c\/b\u003eMa said. \u003cb\u003e'I think it would do us all good to get some sun.'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd so at the end of a rainy English August the Larkins - all ten of them, including little Oscar, the family's new addition - bundle into the old Rolls and cross the Channel to escape the hostile elements.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut far from being the balmy, sunny and perfick spot Ma Larkin hoped for, France proves less than welcoming to an eccentric English family. The tea's weak, the furniture breakable and the hotel manager is almost as hostile as the wind and the rain they've brought with them!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd when the manager learns that Ma and Pop are unmarried yet sharing a room under his roof, the trouble really begins . . .\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224278708597,"sku":"9780141029641","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141029641_88b007c6-8ef9-4daf-8fc6-34ae52dafbea.jpg?v=1786011583"},{"product_id":"9780141029658","title":"A Little of What You Fancy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Teetotal!' Ma said. 'It's a libel. He'll never live it down. He'll never be able to hold his head up again. Whatever will people think? What's he going to say when anybody asks him to have one?'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'No,' said Dr Conner.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'You'll have to strap him down,' Ma said. 'You'll have to put the handcuffs on.'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd so after a mild heart-attack - caused by rather too much of what you fancy - Pop Larkin finds himself off the booze, off the good food and off the good life generally, much to his own and everyone's else's horror and upset. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd while Ma tries to find ways around 'doctor's orders', young Primrose is finding her own way round a rather flustered - not to say flushed - Mr Candy ...\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224391037301,"sku":"9780141029658","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141029658_549e263c-df8e-41a4-a638-6964931a0c55.jpg?v=1786011585"},{"product_id":"9780413775979","title":"The Purple Plain","description":"Full of mounting suspense and masterly characterisation, Bates's popular wartime novel tells the story of three very different men who, after their aircraft crashes, are forced to trek across the Burmese wilderness to safety. It is reissued by Methuen along with \"The Jacaranda Tree\" and \"The Purple Plain\" and to coincide with the re-publication in one volume of Bates' acclaimed autobiographies - \"The Vanished World\", \"The Blossoming World\" and \"World in Ripeness\".","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56288302727541,"sku":"9780413775979","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780413775979_81119050-f2d8-4f88-8b56-f4eea887ff33.jpg?v=1786014269"},{"product_id":"9780413776525","title":"The Sleepless Moon","description":"\"The Sleepless Moon\" opens with the marriage of Constance and Melford Turner, with Constance's dreamlike walk across the square of Orlingford: when the warm summer wind ripples her white silk dress against her skin, she feels 'astonishingly free and exalted'. Although she is shy and quiet, Constance is also sensual and sexual, but we discover on her wedding night that she is doomed to a passionless marriage, and the arrival of a young pianist, Frankie Johnson, drives their marriage even further apart. \"The Sleepless Moon\" is about the bleak and unforgiving nature of insomnia, of restlessness, repressed passion and dislocation. Orlingford is a town where it is hard to differentiate between pleasure and pain: the wonder of a moment is ignored, misconstrued or overridden by the fear of it passing. Pleasure is never more than fleeting and the characters are speechless in their supplication for help and understanding; repressed emotions manifest themselves in peculiar character traits and habit, and dreams are more vivid and warm than life.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56289732329845,"sku":"9780413776525","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780413776525_e661d872-e530-4059-a705-dc3e2fd9b3de.jpg?v=1786013357"},{"product_id":"9780413775986","title":"The Feast of July","description":"This is a reissue of a Bates classic. Betrayed by her lover, Bella Ford sets out on a journey to find him and exact her revenge. Instead, however, her arduous search brings her to the home of the Wainwright family: the pious and good-natured Wainwright, his tough and uncompromising wife, their daughter, Nell and their three very different sons, sensitive Matty, quick-tempered Con and sedate Jedd. Slowly, and in their individual ways the Wainrights restore Bella's trust and, sharing the hardships and pleasure of their lives, she again finds happiness and love. Then, at the traditional Feast of July, the past comes crashing back into Bella's life, and with it, violent and terrible tragedy. First published in 1954, this timeless love story demonstrates Bates' richly lyrical prose and his literary relationship with the English countryside. Reissued by Methuen along with \"The Jacaranda Tree\" and \"The Purple Plain\" and to coincide with the republication in one volume of Bates's acclaimed autobiographies - \"The Vanished World\", \"The Blossoming World\" and \"World in Ripeness\".","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56289743536501,"sku":"9780413775986","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780413775986_95c05d2f-aa94-4312-9026-c67a15b571a0.jpg?v=1786013350"},{"product_id":"9780413775993","title":"The Jacaranda Tree","description":"This is a reissue of Bates's acclaimed novel of Burma. During World War II, a small English community are forced to flee when Japanese forces invade Burma. Paterson, the manager of a rice-mill, organises the evacuation and takes with him his Burmese mistress and her young brother. The rest of the party take along their prejudices, their pettiness and their squabbles, and a small enclave of English insularity moves north through Burma. Inevitably, as the journey continues, bitterness, tension and insoluble conflict unfold...Inspired by Bates' period of service in the Eastern theatre of war, \"The Jacaranda Tree\" skillfully evokes the atmosphere of Burma during the chaos of invasion. Reissued by Methuen along with \"The Jacaranda Tree\" and \"The Purple Plain\" and to coincide with the republication in one volume of Bates's acclaimed autobiographies - \"The Vanished World\", \"The Blossoming World\" and \"World in Ripeness\".","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56289787380085,"sku":"9780413775993","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780413775993_65e49fab-763c-4463-ba88-2e220ac75af0.jpg?v=1786013351"},{"product_id":"9781908213020","title":"Through the Woods","description":"H E Bates carried a woodland in his imagination. He fell under its spell as a boy growing up in the Midlands, becoming increasingly enchanted each time he stepped below the wooded canopy. Memory magnified its mystery over the years, enriching his stories as he grew successful as a writer. But why did this place become a part of him? What are the qualities of all woodlands that make them so special? Set in Kent, Bates returns to those trees of his youth to breath life into the changing character of a single woodland year, revealing how precious they are to the English countryside. Our new edition is illustrated throughout with Agnes Miller Parker's wonderful engravings. Little Toller republishes classic books about nature and rural life.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308804780405,"sku":"9781908213020","price":14.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781908213020_c825a2c8-0b9f-458f-b255-3c289d70e0c8.jpg?v=1786029352"},{"product_id":"9780141188164","title":"Fair Stood the Wind for France","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen John Franklin brings his plane down into Occupied France at the height of the Second World war, there are two things in his mind - the safety of his crew and his own badly injured arm. It is a stroke of unbelievable luck when the family of a French farmer risk their lives to offer the airmen protection. During the hot summer weeks that follow, the English officer and the daughter of the house are drawn inexorably to each other...\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311569711477,"sku":"9780141188164","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141188164_be8cb192-8876-4973-bd2d-217f6fcd255c.jpg?v=1786011500"},{"product_id":"9780811210508","title":"A Party for the Girls – Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe six long stories of \u003cem\u003eA Party for the Girls\u003c\/em\u003e present H.E. Bates at his finest. A crack shot at understated tragedy, Bates is perhaps at his best with comedy and character--consider the opening line of the title story: \"Miss Tompkins, who was seventy-six, bright pink-looking in a bath-salts sort of way and full of an alert but dithering energy, looked out the drawing-room window for the twentieth time since breakfast and found herself growing increasingly excited.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThough virtually unknown here, as \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e put it in their review of Bates's \u003cem\u003eA Month by the Lake \u0026amp; Other Stories\u003c\/em\u003e (1987), his nearly perfect stories...should set his readers clamoring for more... He is as adept at the seductive rise and fall of his narrative voice as he is cunning with naturalistic dialogue. Comparisons to Joyce, Chekhov, and Mansfield are inevitable.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56368203334005,"sku":"9780811210508","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780811210508_9a3dc814-988f-43b6-b9b4-26de9955be81.jpg?v=1786033173"},{"product_id":"9781399602525","title":"Why I Live in the Country","description":"Fresh, lyrical and full of enchantment, the nature writing of H. E. Bates is alive with the joys of his beloved English countryside, from his hometown in Northamptonshire to the orchards of Kent. Bringing together a rich variety of the essays he wrote over half a century from 1924 to 1973, Why I Live in the Country is an invitation to slow down, breathe in and look to the land for the wonders we might find there.   From the first inklings of spring to the deep silence of midwinter, these essays move through the seasons of English rural life in a collection that celebrates the beauty in every hedgerow, field and tree.   'He was without an equal in England within the kind of story he had made his own and stood in the direct line of succession of . . . George Eliot, Hardy and D. H. Lawrence' The Times'[He had] the gift of putting the English countryside down on paper' Guardian","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56368803152245,"sku":"9781399602525","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"how-sleep-the-brave","title":"How Sleep the Brave","description":"\u003cb\u003eHeroic and moving accounts of the R.A.F. in war time by the author of \u003ci\u003eFair Stood the Wind for France\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Darling Buds of May\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'After 60 years of writing and reading, I would place H.E. Bates as one of the best short-story writers of my time' Graham Greene\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst published under the pseudonym of Flying Officer X, H. E. Bates’s stories of the heroic exploits of British bomber crews during the Second World War created a sensation when they appeared in 1942, selling over two million copies all over the world. Bates lived among the painfully young pilots and recorded their lives, and those of their loved ones, with an emotional attention that deeply moved the generation that lived through the war, and an intensity that reverberates down the decades.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466619265397,"sku":"9780099442035","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099442035.jpg?v=1785654677"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-h-e-bates.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}