The Grass God

London: John Murray, 1951 (Cornhill Supplement No. 1)

A portrait of Fitzgerald, a landowner who is unfeeling in his treatment of his tenants and his wife, and clueless in conducting a summer affair with a young beauty.

The New Statesman and Nation says "the effect of the story is to leave the reader feeling bewildered and cheated in mid-air. One is moved by the scenery and the long green summer and never once by Fitzgerald himself." The Times Literary Supplement comments that he "does not succeed in giving life to his characters" while John Betjeman writing for The Daily Telegraph considers the story to show Bates 'at his very best.'

Reprinted in Modern Woman (December, 1963) with the title 'The Turning Point'. Also included in The Nature of Love (1953).

Reviews:

• New Statesman and Nation (December 15, 1951, p. 715, John Raymond, attached)
• Times Literary Supplement (December 21, 1951, p. 817, Marie Hannah, attached)
• Daily Telegraph (January 11, 1952, p. 6, John Betjeman, attached)