Best Of H E Bates

The earliest of these stories, The Flame, was first published in 1926, having been written a year earlier, when I was twenty; the latest appeared in 1961. The intervening thirty-five years, together with the thirty-five stories I have chosen from that period, therefore give this collection its title, Seven by Five. My aim has been to make the book as widely representative of my work as a short story writer as possible, but I have nevertheless refrained from including any of the war-time stories I wrote under the pseudonym of 'Flying Officer X', any of the stories of Uncle Silas and any novellas, since these all belong, in my view, to quite separate categories. *The title of the British edition.

A chronicle of the love affairs of a beautiful but wayward upper-class English girl in a skating community in the English countryside.

It was only a little over a year ago that I came across H. E. Bates' work; up until then. I had never even heard his name, strange as this may sound. I blush now when I read that he is the author of forty or more books, has been translated into a dozen or more languages, and that 'his reputation in America, Australia and New Zealand equals, and in some cases surpasses, that in his own country. Perhaps I would never have heard of him had I not been laid up with chills and fever in the Hotel Formentor, Mallorca, where I was quartered during the Formentor Conference. Having nothing to read I asked a friend to go to the bookstore in the lobby and select something light, gay, amusing for me. My friend returned with a copy of A Breath of French Air. He said nothing about knowing the author until some days later when I told him how much I had enjoyed the book. A little later, at some airport, I picked up The Darling Buds of May and Fair Stood the Wind for France. The last named impressed me deeply and made me wonder why I had never heard of the author. It struck me as being the only good novel I had read about World War II...

The former Guardian royal correspondent “wisely explores a host of issues surrounding the royals, from the monarchy’s role to the legacy of Diana” (Get Surrey). It was an amazing feat in the twenty-frst century that Queen Elizabeth II, a small woman in her late-eighties, was one of the most recognisable people on the planet. The world had utterly, irreversibly, and radically evolved since she ascended the throne in 1952 and yet, in an era of instant celebrity, she remained, more popular than ever: a bastion of certainty and comfort to the British and many other people during uncertain times. But with her death on September 8, 2022, questions remain: How secure is the British Royal Family? How much depended on the person of the Queen herself, and how much on the institution? To answer these questions, Royalty Inc. combines a history of the British Crown’s evolution through the modern age with a journalistic peek behind the curtain at the machinery that sustains the Windsors today. Written by the Guardian’s former Royal correspondent, its line is neither royalist nor republican. Instead it takes a clear-eyed look at a host of issues, including the future of the Commonwealth, the Monarchy’s role in the British constitution and class system, King Charles’ notorious “black spider memos,” the true scale of the Royal finances, the legacy of Diana, and the problems and pressures faced by any heir to the throne in the future. “Fearless and perceptive . . . Stephen Bates tells it like it is, covering every aspect with rare humour and intelligence. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.” —Literary Review

'Christening? We never said nothing about no christening, Ma, did we?' And 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. In 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! Pop, 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. But there are one or two gatecrashers even Pop hadn't counted on turning up . . .