Penguin H E Bates Collection The Larkins Family Set Of 5 Books

H.E. Bates’s The Larkins Family set gathers five stories focused on Pop and Ma Larkin and their bustling household. Across the collection, everyday routines at home and trips further afield are shaped by surprise arrivals, family events and Pop’s knack for turning circumstances to his advantage.

From organising a christening to heading across the Channel in search of better weather, each book follows the family through new complications and comic twists. Included are The Darling Buds of May, A Breath of French Air, When the Green Woods Laugh, A Little of What You Fancy and Oh! to be in England.

Included titles

• The Darling Buds of May
• A Breath of French Air
• When the Green Woods Laugh
• A Little of What You Fancy
• Oh! to be in England

Key details

• Five-book collection
• By H.E. Bates
• Series: The Larkins Family

Synopses

Oh! to be in England

A letter signals the approaching arrival of Madame Dupont, as Pop and Ma Larkin hear that little Oscar and Blenheim, Charley and Mariette’s new son, are due to be christened. When Mr Candy, who is set to officiate, realises the rest of the Larkin children have been overlooked, the whole family looks likely to be included.

A Breath of French Air

After a wet English August, the Larkins, all ten of them including little Oscar, squeeze into the old Rolls and head across the Channel to escape the rain. France, however, turns out to be less welcoming than Ma Larkin anticipates for an eccentric English family.

When the Green Woods Laugh

Pop Larkin, a junk-dealer, devoted family man and Dragon’s Blood connoisseur, sells a nearby crumbling country house to Mr and Mrs Jerebohm, newly arrived from the city, for a substantial sum. With the proceeds, he is able to build Mariette the swimming pool she has long wanted.

The Darling Buds of May

One May evening, the Larkins return from fish and chips and ice cream to find an unexpected visitor at home. Cedric Charlton, Her Majesty’s inspector of taxes, has arrived amid the rustic charms of their surroundings.

A Little of What You Fancy

After a mild heart attack caused by overindulgence, Pop Larkin is told to avoid drink, rich food and the good life, to the dismay of everyone, including Pop himself. As Ma searches for ways around the doctor’s instructions, Primrose finds her own route past a flustered Mr Candy.