H.E. Bates

Darling Buds Of May (1961)

I picked this up because I thought it would make a nice cosy bedtime read. Well it does, a bit. At first it reminded me strongly of Frank Capra's BW film, "You Can't Take It With You". The Larkins live what appears at first to be a hand-to-mouth existence on a ramshackle farm, though Pop Larkin i...

Love For Lydia (1988)

A Breath of French Air (2006)

A year has passed since the conclusion of The Darling Buds of May and Pop and Ma Larkin have added baby Oscar to their family, Charley and Mariette are now married (but no bun in the oven or little one for them yet) but otherwise the family remains the same as ever. Ma is depressed by the summer ...