Pop Larkin Chronicles

In the second novel in the Pop Larkin series, the Larkin family descends upon Brittany in France. Like fish out of water, they find out things don't quite turn out their way: the weather is less than ideal, the food is awful and the hotel is in a bad state of repair. But things slowly improve as Pop manages to sweet-talk Mlle. Dupont, Angela Snow and her sister Iris, and Charley and Mariette celebrate their first wedding anniversary. A Breath of French Air is a delightful book full of nostalgia, fun and frivolity.

A year has passed and in this third novel of the Pop Larkin series, Pop Larkin is preparing to build the bungalow he promised Charley and Mariette upon their engagement. He buys a country home slated for demolition, intending to convert it for the two, but it is not long before a London couple persuade him to sell it. Pop, ever the trickster, sells it for an extortionate price as the two social climbers know little about country life. Party-throwing and cocktail-mixing abound until a rocky boat and a misplaced pair of hands have Pop before the local magistrate...

In this third sequel to The Darling Buds of May, Charley and Mariette decide to get baby Blenheim christened, leading to a wholesale christening of all seven of the Larkin children. Chaos abounds as the vicar Mr. Candy is run ragged by the naughty twins Zinnia and Petunia, and finds himself the object of desire for Pop's second eldest, Primrose. To top it all off, Pop buys a fairground on a whim, and Mlle DuPont arrives to discover that Pop is not a Lord, nor does he live in a mansion. The result is a celebratory ending and a wonderful tribute to Pop's beloved countryside, with its 'nightingales and blackbirds, bluebells and primroses, haytime and high summer'. Perfick!

In the final book of the series that began with The Darling Buds of May, the fun-loving Pop Larkin finds himself confined to bed following a mild heart attack ? caused by a little too much of what he fancied. Ma battles with the doctors as she attempts to find the 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. This concludes the tales of H.E. Bates's Larkin family - a winsome gallery of characters who live as many of us would like to live 'if only we had the guts and nerve to flout the conventions'.

When Cedric Charlton, an unsuspecting tax inspector, arrives at the door of the Pop Larkin farm, he soon forgets the purpose of his visit: the fun-loving Ma and Pop Larkin distract him at every turn with strawberries, cream, alcohol, and their attractive young daughter, Mariette. Well known by the popular TV series starring David Jason and Catherine Zeta-Jones, The Darling Buds of May is the quintessential feel-good, country romp. It will have you falling wholeheartedly in love with the Larkin family and their carefree way of life. So grab a bowl of ice cream, pull out a deck chair and share in the 'perficktion' of country life.