Selected Dramatisations and readings of the genre-spanning work of HE Bates'A great treasure trove to dive into' Entertainment FocusHE Bates is probably best known for his comic novel The Darling Buds of May, which introduced the lovable Larkins to the world and sparked three hugely popular TV adaptations. In his 68 years, Bates wrote over 20 further novels, more than 300 short stories, children’s books, poems, plays and n...

AS SEEN ON BBC'S BETWEEN THE COVERSThirty 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,...

Join the Larkins for one last ride in the final instalment of the much-loved series, inspiration for the new ITV drama starring Bradley Walsh'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.

Fair Stood the Wind for France, first published in 1944, is author H. E. Bates' fictional account of a downed English bomber-pilot and his crew over occupied France during World War II. The men are taken in by a French family who hide them in their home. However, the pilot, injured during the plane's landing, must remain in France to heal, while his crew begin their journey back to friendly territory. The pilot falls in love with the home-owner's daughter, their relationsh...

Take a trip to Larkin country in the much-loved series, inspiration for the 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 c...

Take a perfick trip to France in the second book of this much-loved series, inspiration for the ITV drama THE LARKINS starring Bradley Walsh'I should like to go to France,' said Ma.'God Almighty,' Pop said. 'What for?''For a holiday of course,' Ma said. 'I think it would do us all good to get some sun.'And so at the end of a rainy...

Join the Larkins for another adventure in the much-loved series, inspiration for the new ITV drama starring Bradley Walsh'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 Ca...

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...

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 midw...

Bella Ford, aged 19 and inexperienced, is seduced by an older, married man and becomes pregnant. Jilted by her unscrupulous lover, Bella plans revenge and journeys to the place he told her he was from— a lie— and loses the baby during the journey. She is taken in by a family of shoemakers who help her restore her faith in living— until a crisis of extreme tragedy puts her to the highest test.This brooding, suspenseful story of sensuality and vengeance— set amid the fields and villa...

'An honest and skillfully told love story' - New York TimesLydia - shy, sheltered, beautiful and just nineteen - glides into Evensford one wintry day, stirring up feeling amongst the town's young men. But it is the young Mr Richardson that she befriends.As winter turns to drowsy summer, his world becomes a wondrous place, full only of Lydia; but a change comes over the once retiring girl as she discovers the effect she has on other...

In the 1940s, the wife of a war prisoner lives in desperate loneliness and fear on an isolated farmstead.She encounters a young farmboy completely out of his element as a soldier, and the two carve out a relationship in defiance of the war around them. His decision to escape the military and to dress as his lover's sister to avoid detection eventually leads to tragedy.Originally published in 1970, The Triple Echo was Bates's last significant novell...