The Best of H.E. Bates: A Selection of Novels and Short Stories

London: Michael Joseph, 1980.

A posthumous collection, not to be confused with the selection of short stories made by Bates in 1963, the English title of which is Seven by Five but the American title of which isThe Best of H.E. Bates.

Valentine Cunningham, in the Times Literary Supplement, describes the collection as 'superb' and offers a lengthy summary of Bate's gifts in portraying rural life, women, and war. He praises his "faith in the continued virtues of ordinary people...despite everything working to the contrary, Bates makes trust and comradeliness, love and tenderness...seem feasible as well as worthwhile survivors.'

Reviews:

• Times Literary Supplement (January 9, 1981, p. 7, Valentine Cunningham, attached)

Contains: Fair Stood the Wind for France, The Purple Plain, The Darling Buds of May, The Triple Echo, The Four Beauties, The Simple Life, The Bedfordshire Clanger, The Major of Hussars, The Wild Cherry Tree, The Little Farm, Great Uncle Crow.