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Lydia Aspen, a seemingly shy girl from a wealthy but isolated
background, is encouraged by her aunts, her new carers, to discover
the delights of growing up. They entrust her education to Mr
Richardson, the young apprentice for Evenford's local newspaper,
who is sent to their house to 'get a story' about the recent death
of Lydia's father. Richardson's access to the Aspens is unusual, as
they are rarely seen by anyone from the town and hide behind their
stone walls and perimeter of trees; introducing Lydia to the town's
inhabitants gives Richardson a great sense of pride. Visiting the
Aspen estate also allows Richardson the chance to escape from the
great engulfing vacuum of Evensford, with it's endless stretch of
factory roofs and back alleys. As Lydia and Richardson spend more
time together, he realises that his initial concept of Lydia was
wrong, that she is far from being shy and is often impetuous and
demanding, and enjoys captivating the young men who become her
companions. Richardson soon discovers that his promise to love her,
no matter what she does to him, is going to push him beyond the
pain and feelings he thinks he is capable of experiencing.One of
Bates' best-loved and most enduring books, "Love for Lydia" is an
extraordinary tale of love and longing, set against the backdrop of
1920s decadence, and the fall of the English upper classes.
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".
Thirty years after The Darling Buds of May became one of the most
popular comedy-dramas in ITV history, H.E. Bates's novel is back in
a brand new adaptation starring Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan
'The warmth and affection that H. E. Bates has generated through
his books is so uplifting' Bradley Walsh ________ 'Home looks nice.
Allus does though, don't it? Perfick' One pleasant May evening, Pop
and Ma Larkin and their six children - sated on fish, chips and ice
cream - return to the rustic charms of their Kent farm. Waiting for
them is a young man: Mr Cedric Charlton, an upstanding inspector of
taxes, come to discover why they haven't paid any. Yet as
junk-dealer Pop patiently explains: nothing's ever 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 the sweet song of
nightingales. Will Cedric come to his senses? Or will he beat a
hasty retreat to the office? ________ 'A pulsing comedy of country
manners. A five-alarm blaze of a book. Just about perfick' TIME 'A
gently, anarchic wish-fulfilling daydream' THE TIMES 'What better
comfort could there be from all we have endured this year than the
rolling laughter and outsize hugs of Ma and Pop? It's going to be
an honour to help bring The Larkins to the nation's devices!'
Joanna Scanlan on her casting as Ma
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".
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.
'Home looks nice. Allus does though, don't it? Perfick' And 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. Mr 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. In fact, soon
Charley can't see any reason to return to the office at all . . .
"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.
'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?'
'No,' said Dr Conner. 'You'll have to strap him down,' Ma said.
'You'll have to put the handcuffs on.' And 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. And 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 ...
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".
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Down the River (Paperback)
H. E. Bates, Charles Rangeley-Wilson; Illustrated by Agnes Miller Parker
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R429
R348
Discovery Miles 3 480
Save R81 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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Rivers are great workings of nature, time and geology. They have
long been at the very centre of human culture, sustaining us with
water, food, power and stories. Our thoughts flow like a river. A
river's journey, from source to sea, is a metaphor for life. H.E.
Bates's own journey began on the banks and in the waters of two
contrasting Midland rivers. The River Nene's jumbled course and
character, with its towpaths and locks and bridges, speaks of human
industry on its journey to The Wash. The River Ouse, in contrast,
with its wide meanders brimmed with reeds and smoky willows, rich
in wildlife and wild flowers, is an uplifting, ephemeral water, a
river of summer memories and flag irises, the blue pulse of
kingfishers and pike lurking in weed-shadows. Peopled by his
relatives and neighbours, both the Nene and the Ouse, however
different, filled H.E. Bates's imagination with the wonderful
stories and characters that make his writing so enjoyable.
Take a trip to Larkin country in the much-loved series, inspiration
for the new ITV drama THE LARKINS starring Bradley Walsh '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?' And 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. But the
Larkin's new neighbours aren't quite so accepting of country ways -
especially Pop's little eccentricities. In 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 . . .
When 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...
At thirty-four, H.E. Bates was deemed too old for active service in
WWII. But as a successful author, was commissioned by the nascent
RAP Public Relations unit to publicise the bravery of the fighter
pilots. Bates was posted to Oakington and Tangmere air bases where,
over drinks with the pilots, he gathered their stories and wrote
them as Flying Officer X. The stories convey the pilots' personal
qualities and the forces that motivated them. They blend the action
and suspense of aerial battles, the tragedy of friendships cut off
too soon, and life enduring against all odds. Collected into one
volume for the first time, along with five previously unpublished
stories from the era, this is a remarkable collection. Includes an
introduction by Patrick Bishop, bestselling author of Bomber Boys:
Fighting Back 1940-1945
Stories about children are not always for children. In The
Watercress Girl, H. E. Bates masterfully depicts a childhood which,
by proxy, reveals the mystifying world of the adult. Through a
series of short, lyrical stories, the complexities of the world are
seen with crystalline purity through the eyes of children. We
experience the joyous and painful clarity of youth, full of fears,
hopes and make-believe, and the trust and mistrust of the adult
world. A little boy, charmed by the golden-throated Miss Mortenson,
witnesses her fall from grace in 'The Pemberton Thrush'. Three
children become entangled in a forbidden love when they witness a
man attempting suicide in 'A Great Day for Bonzo', and a father
reveals more of his past than he intends to in 'The Far Distant
Journey'. First published in 1959, The Watercress Girl is a rich
collection of stories, exploring a world full of wonder but also of
unease; an unease of not yet understanding the world or being fully
part of it.
Day's End and Other Stories, H. E. Bates's first short story
collection published in 1928 when he was just 23, depicts the rural
lives of quirky characters cast in his distinctive, beautifully
drawn style. Each story has a youthful quality, intimate and often
profound, perfectly demonstrating the progression of this masterful
wordsmith. Bates explores bittersweet young love in 'The Birthday',
the delightful reflections of a man spellbound by the sounds of the
sea and the breathing of his new baby in 'The Holiday', and two old
friends in 'Fishing', described by David Garnett as a tale that
"could hardly be shorter and could hardly be slighter, but it is a
complete and perfect little work of art, full of humour and
containing a profound reflection on human life." This edition of
Day's End and Other Stories, published by Bloomsbury Reader to
celebrate H. E. Bates's 110th birthday anniversary, is enhanced
with a bonus story - In View of the Fact That - a rare gem
previously published in a small pamphlet in 1927, and never
reproduced.
This is a new release of the original 1944 edition.
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Down the River (Paperback)
H. E. Bates; Illustrated by Agnes Miller Parker
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R747
Discovery Miles 7 470
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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This is a new release of the original 1944 edition.
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Down the River (Hardcover)
H. E. Bates; Illustrated by Agnes Miller Parker
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R1,078
Discovery Miles 10 780
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of
rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for
everyone!
Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of
rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone
Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of
rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for
everyone!
Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of
rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for
everyone!
The horror and the humanity of war come too close, when a little
fishing boat, the Breadwinner, rescues a pilot shot down in the
Channel during a dogfight. The only trouble is, the pilot is
German. As the young fisherman tends his wounds, he comes to
realize that war is not exciting, and the enemy before him is just
a young boy like himself - indistinguishable from the once
glamorous English pilot who soon also crashes near the boat.
Four evocative short stories by a master storyteller.
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