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A Love of Flowers
Book by Bates, H. E.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
About the author
H.E. Bates
280 books202 followersHerbert 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
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
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August 28, 2023
H E Bates is primarily known as a novelist and short-story writer, but he was also a keen amateur gardener. Following a serious illness, he found great therapeutic value in his garden, and this book is the outcome. It is not exactly a gardening manual, although he does share some of the tips that he has found useful over the years. Chiefly, it is an introduction to his favourite plants and the reasons why he loves them so much - literally, an attempt to share his love of flowers with the reader.
His writing is very readable and sometimes amusing. As someone who used to work in a plant nursery, I particularly liked his account of a nursery customer who is searching for a particular plant: " 'Well, it has a blue flower - well, sort of blue. I suppose some people might call it a bit purplish...And it's a bit like a rose - well, not a rose really, but double, sort of...How high does it grow? Oh! about eighteen inches - no, perhaps two feet...Leaves? Well, they're big, I mean long. And shaggy, sort of...' the low, protracted groan...is merely the concerted sound of an army of nurserymen trying vainly to play detective on the clues offered." Ah, yes! As a current 'jobbing gardener', I'm not quite so keen on his description of us all as garden destroyers though!
Although the book was published in 1971, it still has much to offer to any plant enthusiast, and it also benefits from some beautiful greytone illustrations by Pauline Ellison. However, modern readers should be aware that Bates was of his time, and some of his remarks about women would be regarded as unacceptably sexist today.
His writing is very readable and sometimes amusing. As someone who used to work in a plant nursery, I particularly liked his account of a nursery customer who is searching for a particular plant: " 'Well, it has a blue flower - well, sort of blue. I suppose some people might call it a bit purplish...And it's a bit like a rose - well, not a rose really, but double, sort of...How high does it grow? Oh! about eighteen inches - no, perhaps two feet...Leaves? Well, they're big, I mean long. And shaggy, sort of...' the low, protracted groan...is merely the concerted sound of an army of nurserymen trying vainly to play detective on the clues offered." Ah, yes! As a current 'jobbing gardener', I'm not quite so keen on his description of us all as garden destroyers though!
Although the book was published in 1971, it still has much to offer to any plant enthusiast, and it also benefits from some beautiful greytone illustrations by Pauline Ellison. However, modern readers should be aware that Bates was of his time, and some of his remarks about women would be regarded as unacceptably sexist today.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review