A Little of What You Fancy

The Pop Larkin Chronicles #5

by H.E. Bates

'Mr Candy, the vicar, groping among the raspberry canes, stretched out a hand to steady himself, and instead found it grasping Primrose's smooth naked shoulder. Great God, he thought, how warm the flesh was.'

Things may be going well for Primrose Larkin, but they are far less 'perfick' for Pa Lakin. For in this, the fifth delightful story of the Larkin family, Pa has a mild heart attack. Even though the cunning Ma sends a succession of women up to his bedroom to tempt him back to health, he takes a long time to recover...

~~~
Librarian's note: an alternate cover edition
ISBN: 0-14-003702-0

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Classics, Comedy, Audiobook, Novels, British Literature

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Herbert Ernest Bates, CBE is widely recognised as one of the finest short story writers of his generation, with more than 20 story collections published in his lifetime. It should not be overlooked, however, that he also wrote some outstanding novels, starting with The Two Sisters through to A Moment in Time, with such works as Love For Lydia, Fair Stood the Wind for France and The Scarlet Sword earning high praise from the critics. His study of the Modern Short Story is considered one of the best ever written on the subject.

He was born in Rushden, Northamptonshire and was educated at Kettering Grammar School. After leaving school, he was briefly a newspaper reporter and a warehouse clerk, but his heart was always in writing and his dream to be able to make a living by his pen.

Many of his stories depict life in the rural Midlands of England, particularly his native Northamptonshire. Bates was partial to taking long midnight walks around the Northamptonshire countryside - and this often provided the inspiration for his stories. Bates was a great lover of the countryside and its people and this is exemplified in two volumes of essays entitled Through the Woods and Down the River.

In 1931, he married Madge Cox, his sweetheart from the next road in his native Rushden. They moved to the village of Little Chart in Kent and bought an old granary and this together with an acre of garden they converted into a home. It was in this phase of his life that he found the inspiration for the Larkins series of novels -The Darling Buds of May, A Breath of French Air, When the Green Woods Laugh, etc. - and the Uncle Silas tales. Not surprisingly, these highly successful novels inspired television series that were immensely popular.

His collection of stories written while serving in the RAF during World War II, best known by the title The Stories of Flying Officer X, but previously published as Something in the Air (a compilation of his two wartime collections under the pseudonym 'Flying Officer X' and titled The Greatest People in the World and How Sleep the Brave), deserve particular attention. By the end of the war he had achieved the rank of Squadron Leader.

Bates was influenced by Chekhov in particular, and his knowledge of the history of the short story is obvious from the famous study he produced on the subject. He also wrote his autobiography in three volumes (each delightfully illustrated) which were subsequently published in a one-volume Autobiography.

Bates was a keen and knowledgeable gardener and wrote numerous books on flowers. The Granary remained their home for the whole of their married life. After the death of H. E Bates, Madge moved to a bungalow, which had originally been a cow byre, next to the Granary. She died in 2004 at age 95. They raised two sons and two daughters.

primarily from Wikipedia, with additions by Keith Farnsworth

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the earlier books in the Pop Larkin series and went on a hunt for this one (found it in the lovely ramshackle secondhand bookshop, Badger Books in Worthing)for purely escapist reasons. It delivered in bucketloads - bucketloads of champagne, brandy, roast chicken, rare beef, and jellies as wobbly as Ma Larkin. Not a lot happens but what do you want to happen when you can bask in the Kent sunshine in the glorious tumble of the Larkins'immodestly blooming garden. Perfick.

[Ivy-Mabel Fling]

This is the final volume in the series and suggests there is hope for the Larkins. However, it was obviously a problem for Mr Bates to know how to end this orgy of hedonism and 'amorality' after Pop's health problems. In my view he managed it as well as possible but there was no ideal end.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A Little Of What You Fancy” is the fifth and final book in the Larkin Family series by H.E. Bates, published in 1970. The book was later adapted into a BBC radio drama, starring David Jason and Pam Ferris as the irrepressible Pop and Ma Larkin.

The story follows Pop Larkin as he recovers from a mild heart attack, caused by a little too much of what he fancied. Ma battles with the doctors as she attempts to find an adequate cure, but it turns out that a seductive nurse is all he needs. Pa’s spirits truly recover themselves when he is forced to defend his home from the ministry’s railway plans.

The radio drama adaptation captures the charm and humor of the original novel, with excellent performances from the cast. David Jason and Pam Ferris bring their characters to life with warmth and wit, making the listener feel like they are right there in the midst of the Larkin family’s adventures. The sound design and music also add to the immersive experience, transporting the listener to the idyllic countryside setting of the story (Kent, UK - which happens to be where I also grew up).

One of the strengths of “A Little Of What You Fancy” is its exploration of the themes of love, family, and community. The Larkins’ close-knit family dynamic is heartwarming and their interactions with their neighbors and friends showcase the importance of community and connection. The book also touches on the idea of change and progress, as the Larkins must confront the possibility of losing their home to a new railway line.

Overall, “A Little Of What You Fancy” is a delightful and satisfying conclusion to the Larkin Family series. The BBC radio drama adaptation brings the story to life in a charming and engaging way, making it a joy to listen to. Whether you’re a longtime fan of the series (books or TV) or a newcomer, this audiobook is sure to leave you with a smile on your face.

At the time of this writing, you can listen to the BBC Radio drama adaptation of this book on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/watch?v=yCwuP44EF...

[Mark Farley · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the final and longest of the Darling Buds of May, Pop takes a turn for the worst and uncharacteristically spends most of this time laid up in bed with some sort of heart problem, whilst the rest of the cast take centre stage. Pop soon rouses though when the future of the modern world attempts to uproot the Larkins forever.

The Pop Larkin Chronicles are the quintessential feel good, detached country-bound romp. Well known by the popular tv series starring David Jason and introducing a young Catherine Zeta Jones to the world, this series of novellas set in rural Kent depict a time of post-war relief and joy and with the Larkin family, a sense of openness, lassez faire and an eagerness to get on with life, enjoy nature and all it brings, not to mention the ability to eat, drink and be merry. As a whole, the series delights but can be rather disjointed and sporadic between volumes. They are a joy though and make you have a yearning for a spot at their table being force fed and watered.

[Tania · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just doesn't have the cheerful exuberance of the other books in the series.

[Emma.catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve spent the past few days binge reading this series. Overall, the stories are incredibly charming and heartwarming as well as entertaining. They definitely have some laugh out loud moments and a very British sense of humour. I do have to say I enjoyed the first few books better however each had there own to give. I’m not quite ready to let to Larkins go so I am watching the original series on ITVX.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too cheeky this time. Not much to speak of for morals.

[Camilla Tilly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the final novel of the Pop Larkin series and to me this book was a great disappointment. I realise that Herbert E Bates was almost 70 years old when he wrote this book. He had seen two World Wars and had fought in the second one of the two. He had seen an old England disappear where the privileged classes had to leave their country homes and sell them to nouveau rich from London. The upper classes walking around in rags and not being able to make ends meet. He had seen old traditions fly out the window, the countryside that he so much loved, change in more ways than one. It is an old man that writes this book. My first thought was a dirty old man with sexual fantasies beyond what most people "dream of". With his last book I am sure he wanted to show what excessive eating and drinking will lead to. And he also wanted to point out the liberal sexual views that was by then flourishing. But, does this make good, nice, cozy reading?
When I read the first book I was shocked at the eccentric ways of the Larkin family. But it was something one could laugh at and say was in a way funny. This final book is not funny. It is not cozy. It is not a book I would let my children pick up to read when teenagers and it is definitely not a book for a person with Victorian values or a prude.
The book starts out with Ma and Pop Larkin having sex twice drinking champagne mixed with brandy in between, one early morning in July. The couple now being in their 40s, one wonders at Pop's stamina and not even being on Viagra. A 70-year-old author's dream perhaps? When they are ready to go for it a third time, Pop gets a heart attack. And for the better part of the book we get to read the depressing thoughts of his as he recovers slowly in his bedroom at home. He is put on a diet and can not touch alcohol and to his great sorrow he can not even get "aroused" by all his beautiful female visitors and his nurse that is a beauty beyond words. When we are not reading about him we read about Primrose, his now about 20-year-old daughter, trying to seduce the vicar and finally succeeding. And intermixed with all this is the talk and discussion about the Pill. The book is a very sad finale to the series. Pop survives and without a doubt will go back to his drinking, excessive eating and his very active sex life with his wife and various other female creatures that find him irrisistable. But when I turn the last page that declares that Primrose is pregnant out of wedlock with the vicar that is anti-Pill, then I say good riddence. Thank heaves there is no sequel. The book is nothing but soft porn and I would not have touched it, had I not felt the need for conclusion.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read (and the final one) in the Larkin chronicles.

This one feels less joyful than the previous ones though - mainly because this starts out with Pop suffering a heart attack (probably brought on by years of excessive food and drink consumption - you can tell these books weren't written in today's "health and safety" conscious days!) and then confined to bed whilst he recovers.

As the previous books have been full of Pop's lust for life, the contrast in this one where he feels despondent and down, is quite marked and that atmosphere pervades throughout most of the book.

The story (and Pop) takes a turn for the better when he hears about a dastardly Government plan to build a road to the new Channel Tunnel which threatens to pass right through his land. This gives him something to rage against, and in plotting at how to overcome this he is joined by the usual cast of characters from the village. Needless to say, it all turns out good in the end.

Although this was the last book in the series of 5, it didn't feel like it was the end - although Pop was feeling down for most of it, you get the feeling there were more stories that could have been told with these characters.... or maybe the author felt there was little more to eke out of their lives?

These books had been written over a decade (first one in late 1950s, last one in 1970) and maybe the permissiveness of the 1960s (which is mentioned in some parts of the book) meant that the author felt less inclined to write about these characters as the world was moving on without them? Perhaps he felt that the public of the day were now less inclined to read about this family and the idyllic life in the 1950s - which is a shame. There's clearly a revived interest in nostalgic stories like this now, so perhaps they would do well nowadays.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read this series many years ago, after the TV adaptation was shown in the US. Worth reading just for the descriptions of the food, drink and flowers!

[Alan Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the QC character just a shame I finished the series

[Chloe Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book to finish the series off!

[Jade Dilks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book, I'm sad I've finished them all now, the story is something that could go on and on and I'd keep reading!

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

my rating would be just over 3 stars i think - definitely not as good as the previous ones in the series but this final novel in the pop larkin series of stories is still a nice easy read is all of HE Bates novels.
however unlike the others where the stories revolve around a lead character (and family) who is full of the joys of living, this time around a heart attack has grounded pop larkin and he is generally depressed if not melancholic in mood for most of the story.
the ending which suddenly introduced the threat of new roads being built to link to the proposed channel tunnel and the subsequent destruction to the area of the larkin's farm and local village had the potential to be a novel in its own right - and considering that the novels are not very long anyway should have been - but it dealt with this new threat in a couple of chapters only.
so perhaps the author had grown tired of these characters or thought that the publisher and reading public had out grown the larkins and their circle of friends.
after all the actions and attitudes of the family which were shocking in the 1950's and early 1960's (although being prescient in many ways of how the british family would change and evolve in the future) were quite ho-hum after the cultural/sexual revolutions of the late 1960's.
so by 1970 their casual (or earthy as described in the novels) attitudes to sex and relationships had moved from 'shocking' to simply 'shockingly familiar to readers of some sunday papers'.
and whereas the possible pregnancy of mariette in the first book was something accidental/normal and the family would deal with it, in this novel the pursuit of Rev Candy by Primrose and the resulting announcement of pregnancy despite the ready availability of 'the pill' does read as something slightly 'icky' (for want of a better term).
overall the novel and author seem to be saying that the life style enjoyed by the larkins in the 1950's was acceptable and a good way to live but continuing unchecked with no changes by the 1970's had simply become a life of excesses which caused problems all around.
this novel does feel like a sad end to the series and although not a fan of series continued after the death of their creator, i do think it is a pity that there wasn't/isn't a final story showing Pop Larkin back on his feet and back to his normal cheerful self and also showing proper resolutions to the roads/tunnel and Primrose/Rev Candy story lines.
[edit] chatting about this with a friend I was reminded of the changes to a series of British films which ran from the late 1950’s into the 1970’s - the Carry On films. As with the pop Larkin novels the early films were funny and had few innuendos in them and reflected society as it was. As the sixties progressed society changed and the humour in the films became less seaside postcard innuendo and more direct bawdy material and i think that the same effects are seen in the Larkin novels. Rather than write what could be seen as perhaps old fashioned and a bit stuffy novels HEBates tried to update his style in line with the newish trends. And like the carry on films does not really succeed so that despite still enjoying later works they feel a bit like someone trying too hard to fit in.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Improvement makes straight roads; but the crooked roads without Improvement are the roads of Genius"' (Penguin, 1985, p.171).

Humorously written with aplomb, Bates's foray into the comic world of the Larkins takes a grave turn in this, the last of his Larkin Saga. Perhaps the first and last of the five-book series are the best - but I shall have to re-read the previous, because I got so much out of this outing.

Known for his beautiful evocation of both a nostalgic English countryside where hamlets may have gone but villages still thrived, and the next town was most people's horizon of life, Bates also wrote about a vanishing world almost Dickensian in its make-up, of the still-Victorian hardship of shoemakers (The Feast Of July [1954]), of the passing of the great aristocratic houses of the leather towns (Love For Lydia [1952], The Distant Horns Of Summer [1967]), and a spate of superb war stories, the best of which, the war romance Fair Stood The Wind For France (1944), is calling to me again. In them all he captures a world then vanishing, now almost gone, like A Moment In Time (1964), His painting of the idyll of the English countryside is only equalled by a few similarly nostalgic evocations, such as Flora Thompson's Lark Rise To Candleford (1945) and Laurie Lee's Cider With Rosie (1959), any Hardy, and perhaps D.H. Lawrence.

But in his Larkin series (with the sound of a combination of high jinks and birdsong), while jovially insouciant, he captured the quintessence of rural Kentish life that reminds me of the days of my own childhood summers, when mum would bundle us off with dozens of other women on a bus to pick the apples of the Essex countryside in late summer, and my brother and I would wander into secret worlds, picking mushrooms the size of frying pans, only to see them shrink to the size of side plates once in them. In this series, summer always reigns, bright, uplifting and cheerful as Pop's very philosophy of life, an excess only bettered by Ma's girth and laughter. And a clutch of memorable characters trail in obeisance about the enormous Larkin family, whom Pop never fails to win over: Angela Snow, the eccentric Brigadier, 'a bit of the real, old, vanishing England, a relic of the old imperial' (p.96), Edith Pilchester, caught between God and a suppressed passion, and the now-family former tax inspector, 'Charley' Charlton. With Mariette and now Primrose in the picture, even the local vicar isn't safe.

Nor are we from a little incipient racism, which is a disappointment. It's all meant to imply that Pop gets over-excited by certain kinds of women, and him having just had a heart attack, and all, it's perhaps best not to tempt. And the new nurse, a burnished Australian, might well become a veritable danger upstairs. It all gets a bit Bernard Manning for a mo. But we're not dealing primarily with country gentry, here (they're off shooting pheasant, and occasionally, accidentally, each other). No, this is an awkward moment, and of its time, before positive discrimination and political correctness. Or just mere polite sensitivity. It's probably the booze talking. Even so... Moving on...

The principal sub-plot is Primrose's courtship of the tortuously suffering Reverend Candy. There's a discreetly amusing reprise of cider with Rosie, and he's caught. Willingly, mind. And a vignette of the poor Edith's visit to the pub, believing the rumours that Pop is gone by stroke, and sleeping all the way home in an unsuitable but convenient conveyance. Well, it's happened to us all. Alcohol, of course, is - strike, was - one of Pop's excesses, and they're all banned now. It takes Ma a while to adjust, but she doesn't stop the cooking and baking, and the briefest of mention of cheese straws still warm from the oven nearly made me go out and scour the town. But there's also shortbread and scones, with the choice of apricot jam, lemon curd, or quince jelly. And these are just the snacks. No wonder, then...

Bates takes a pop at English jingoism. Targets are, as well as the invading upper- and upper-middle-classes into the countryside, and Wagnerian pomposity, everything pre-Europe: the Channel Tunnel, the Common Market, decimalisation, anti-Papism, all in line of fire of a fierce opposition to invasion of our Island. Not unfamiliar sentiments. (I myself regret the decimalisation of our gorgeous currency as an unnecessary foolhardiness). The village establishment expresses a fierce pride in the country's unadulterated beauty:

'There would always be an England... England was England; like the sun and the moon it was and always had been and ever more would be so... The meadows, the bluebell woods, the blackbirds, the nightingales, the lanes of hawthorn and primrose and meadowsweet, the cherry orchards, the pubs and the soft, sea-stroked air. These... we have loved' (pp.118-9).

These are the sentiments of those who had fended off the evil Hun in two world wars, especially the last, who had had instilled in them through fiercely patriotic rhetoric and the unconscionable real threat of invasion, an unshakeable nationalism not unexpected in a generation who had witnessed historic evils and who represented no less a political disenchantment we know today. Accommodating a new age was understandably not a natural inclination, a small 'c' conservatism that was clearly comprehensible, given our own resistance to change. Not all change is for the good, we know that too well. And the imminent threat to the Kent village of the Larkins was... well, you must read it.

This book also reminded of the wonder of the English language and its idioms: 'two schools of thought', 'distrait' (distracted due to anxiety), 'desultory' (random, sporadic, haphazard), 'getting over a bottle of plonk' (as in, getting through one) and many more. And also of more generic words which, when put together, painted a picture of sheer beauty:

'The air was rich with the scent of honeysuckle, wild clover and the thick odours of Spanish chestnut bloom from the great trees in the wood overhead' (p.109)

Once again, with his immense knowledge of British flora, I had to pop to the encyclopaedia occasionally. A Bates story isn't a Bates experience without such trips, which references pepper all his works, as indistinguishable from his style as the weather and woods and rivers always depicted. Can you imagine a country before motorways (1958), of the steam train still, when the country was full of thrushes? A mixed blessing, but details aside, it is a lost world Bates is describing, albeit this offering is late in the day and his writing career. It occurs that the cause and bitterness of Pop's gloom might well be autobiographical. Bates died four years later. But the rest of the Larkin Saga, the other four books, belong to the late '50s and '60s, and provide an oasis of a country life of summer in the county Bates was to live in, and which I briefly experienced, a kind of golden world, to me. His inspiration for The Darling Buds of May (1958) was a brief notice of such a family in the Kent countryside. This last of the series is a fond farewell, with not a little tristesse.

[Hayley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Larkin series generally but was a little underwhelmed by this one. I first thought that I must have missed this one when I first read the series about 15 years ago as I had absolutely no recollection of it. However, as I got further into the book I did start to recall reading it before and I now think that it just didn't stay with me as I just didn't enjoy it as much as the others. In some ways it feels different in tone to the other books, with Pop's illness and maybe that is why it didn't appeal to me as much. The rest of the books are very much characterised by a very humorous, anything goes kind of attitude and Pop's illness and inability to indulge in his favourite pleasures just made him a very different character as to how he appears in the others. Overall I love this series but am not sure that I would bother reading this one again.

[Arnab Chaudhuri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pop Larkins is back … but not quite as one may have expected. It is not the usual Pop Larking that can be seen in the Pop Larkins series. The Pop Larkins chronicles has been always been about the rollicking country life. The rural setting and its casual lifestyle had always captivated me.

The Chronicle was very much characterized by a very humorous and with a carefree kind of attitude but in this last part Pop's illness and inability to indulge in his favorite pleasures have obviously dampen that attitude but one can always say that on the other hand the book showcased quite a different characteristics of Pop. One can see a great contrast between the rest of the books and this one. Somehow I think this one just lost the charms that the earlier Pop Larkins books had.

[Sarah Tummey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written 7 years after the previous book, it looks like the author had a bit of memory loss, because Ma and Pop’s grandson doesn’t get a mention. I liked the main story - Pop’s heart attack, and their solution for getting him back to himself. With all that’s going on with Brexit at the moment, it was funny reading this.

Overall, I didn’t like it as much as the other books in the series. Didn’t seem to have as much of a story, and as for Primrose and Mr Candy, I much preferred the TV version where his sister sent her packing!

[Martin Genet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if Bates work is still popular today but I highly recommend this last book in the Larkin series. Bates was a consummate writer and his prose is skilfully composed. His short stories about English country life are superb. The book has a slightly disconsolate tone in areas but overall it is still as entertaining as the previous books in the series. It has a cerebral quality to it and there are some delicious quotes from William Blake which would serve as a useful introduction to his work.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet down

What can I say after reading these books one after the other with great joy I was shocked at how let down I felt by this last book . Not one word rang true to people in the book . I felt the people had change in this book from the others as well as the time (years had no idea what year it was meant to be )

[adllto · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 5th part of HE Bates' stories of Pop Larking and his family. It retains all the charms of the earlier stories though the sub plot with Mr Candy was a little risque. Somehow along the road I realized I haven't read the fourth story/book Oh! To be in England.

[Peter Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

5th volume of Larkin chronicles and much more racy and explicit than earlier volumes. The book ends in a wonderfully intoxicating sexy bucolic romp that the man from the ministry simply doesn't get. Why would anyone want to save a junk yard?

[Emma Dargue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a little different to the other Larkin Novels as for the most part its not as jovial as the previous four books in the series. However if it is oldy worldy England you are looking for then this is your book.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Rhys · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book in which nothing happens. This might seem an odd thing to say, considering that Pop Larkin has a heart attack as a result of overindulgence and becomes a focal point for all sorts of comedic characters and fruity shenanigans. But in fact nothing happens. Nothing worthwhile. He stays in bed and he lusts after the women who visit him (including his wife) and he feels resentful that he's no longer able to overindulge himself.

I loathed this book. Why then have I given it two stars instead of just one? That's a nod to the previous volumes. The first two I enjotyed (the second especially) and the inertia of my liking for that pair has carried over to the weaker third and fourth books, and now also to the dreadful fifth and last in the series. But I have run out of steam. Thank goodness there is no sixth volume!

So let's sum up the entire five book sequence...

Bucolic bollocks. The series starts off quite well but only because in the 1950s the culture was that British politeness (dignity and discretion) took precedence over inner nastiness. The second book in the sequence is my favourite. It's xenophobic but there is some genuine attempt at adopting a broader outlook. The third and fourth novels, written in the 1960s, are profoundly unmemorable in their core essence and the only feeling I retain from them is a slight unpleasantness because they are a little bit molester friendly, indeed a little bit rapey.

By the 1970s, when the last in the series was written, the nastiness had been fully liberated from the shackles of politeness. It's rather like how the Carry On films started off amusingly enough but then decayed into predatory smut. Summary of the entirety of the final novel: Cor, tits, cor backside, wey hey, look at her tits, cor! Let's have a snifter, darling, don't bend over too far, blimey poke yer eyes out with her nips, what? She's a colonial but not one of those dark ones, thank jolly goodness. Perfick, innit? Cor, tits and bum, missus.

Near the end of A Little of What You Fancy it belatedly struck me that Bates was a proto-gammon and a Benny Hill variant. He unfortunately succumbed to vicarious dirty old man syndrome (I hated that kind of nudge-nudge carry on tits'n'bum nonsense even when I was young: Bates was in his 70s when he wrote this, and when it's sit on the porch and be a gramps time, the libido really needs to be locked in a box).

We live and we learn. We read and we grit our teeth.

Having said all this, I would still like to meet Pop Larkin for a drink and a chat in his junkyard because he is a generous fellow and easy going within his limits. Also I haven't given up on Bates. I have Fair Stood the Wind for France waiting for me and I have a feeling that it's probably going to be very good, with none of the 'pinch a nurse's bottom' nonsense of this present volume.

[Steve Prentice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another really enjoyable novel. Essentially Pop has a heart attack and the first half of the book is him trying to cope with the enforced life changes which in turn leaves him gloomy about the future. The second half is the realisation that a Ministry might want to drive a road through Pop's property and this proves to be just the tonic Pop needs. Rather than being forced to think excessively of the need to abandon his much-loved past life, he has a new reason to live and his new positive attitude - a need to beat the road planners and builders - helps him to get better so that by the story's end, he is well on the road to recovery.

As always the writing is seductively gentle and humorous bringing an array of eccentric and loveable English characters to life from a period just after WWII, a long-lost politically incorrect world in which, at least in Bates' novels, everyone is fundamentally happy. He describes a community in which the philanthropic wealthy ('Pop' Larkin) ensured that the not so wealthy remained well looked after and generally happy, or at the very least satisfied, with their lot. The book ends as the series began, with the Larkins' beguiling, bemusing and confusing a man from The Ministry with overwhelming quantities of food and alcohol. There is also an array of loose morals in which everybody tolerates everything everyone does since they are all happy in each other's company, no matter what their foibles.

Were past English communities ever like this? Possibly, but probably not. After all, people are people the world over. Nevertheless idealised stories about such communities are a real pleasure to read as they leave you with a general feel-good factor at the end especially when the prose is as well written as in this series.

If I am praising the books to the hilt why only 4 stars? As I have said about previous novels in this collection, the books are very short. Otherwise, as Pop would say ... "Perfick."

[Noël Cades · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful finale to a lovely series. I've just re-read all five novels back-to-back, and they are consistently lovely, a homage to rural England, great food, natural sensuality, kindness and tolerance. Pop Larkin is laid up in bed recovering from a heart attack throughout most of this book, but there is still plenty of action. (It's rather nice to see Ma finally getting a little "variety" herself). Flowers and fruit are once again abundant throughout.

There are no real conclusions for a lot of the side characters, perhaps H E Bates planned to write more novels, and there are one or two loose ends such as Edith Pilchester's horrid professor neighbour. But the Larkins themselves are left in a reasonably satisfying place, their home saved, and another grandchild and wedding on the way.

The timeline does seem to have jumped a little bit: in the previous novel Primrose was 14 and actively seducing the vicar, with Ma pregnant with her eighth child right at the end. In this book that child (Phyllida) is now old enough to be speaking, so it seems as though at least three or four years have passed. Yet Mr Candy "hadn't seen Primrose for some considerable time" - he's the local vicar - it seems rather odd that they wouldn't have had multiple chance encounters and that their relationship wouldn't have progressed in several years. Victoria is also at finishing school and appears to be older than the twins, whereas she's younger than them in earlier books.

But all in all a lovely read.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last of the Pop Larson books. Pop has a heart attack. Medicine was certainly different in 1970. Pop was sent home and told to lie flat on his back -- no pillow! -- no getting up! No Alcohol, no fats, no cholesterol! All this is a total shock to him, and to Ma, also, who could not get her head around the concept that Pop's normal way of eating was not doing him any favors, healthwise. Not surprisingly, Pop became quite depressed. Even Angela cannot cheer him up. Even when he is able to be up and about again he is still in the doldrums. How to extricate him, and recover their happy Pop? All the regulars: The Brigadier, Edith Pilchester and the Sisters Barnwell; plus some new ones, including Angela's barister father, and Sister Trevelyan (Angela's nurse friend). Pop's son-in-law Charlie continues to impress Pop with his knowledge how to manage in modern times. Meanwhile, the relationship between Angela and the curate, Mr. Candy, continues to blossom. Not as fun as the earlier books, but still basically light-hearted and rather sweet. Nice ending.

[Silverymoonlady · Rating 5 out of 5]

A calming often very funny read.

Now that we are all dealing with so much in our lives I have delved into vintage books! I am actually rather bereft that I have read the last.of the Larkin family. H.E.Bates writes about the countryside so beautifully throne can smell the flowers, envisage the colours and the business of his junk yard. Cheeky characters, of course some of the literature you have to ignore because it was written in a different era but just a lovely, no Perfick read to soothe the soul!

[Gareth Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riotous final outing for the Larkin family in which they stay at home as Pop tries to battle back from illness. Another daughter snares an unlikely partner and all and sundry are drawn into the seductive Larkin way of sucking the marrow out of life. Probably the sexiest of the series, the beauty and humour of Bates’ language seduces.
I am very sorry to have finished the collection but at least have other books by Bates to enjoy, including those where he reveals some of the real-life characters who inspired the Larkins.