'I should like to go to France, ' said Ma. 'God Almighty, ' Pop said. 'What for?' 'For a holiday of course, ' Ma said. 'I think it would do us all good to get some sun.' And so at the end of a rainy English August the Larkins - all ten of them, including little Oscar, the family's new addition - bundle into the old Rolls and cross the Channel to escape the hostile elements. But far from being the balmy, sunny and perfick spot Ma Larkin hoped for, France proves less than welcoming to an eccentric English family. The tea's weak, the furniture breakable and the hotel manager is almost as hostile...

Teetotal Ma said. It s a libel. He ll never live it down. He ll never be able to hold his head up again. Whatever will people think? What s he going to say when anybody asks him to have one? No, said Dr Conner. You ll have to strap him down, Ma said. You ll have to put the handcuffs on. And so after a mild heart-attack caused by rather too much of what you fancy Pop Larkin finds himself off the booze, off the good food and off the good life generally, much to his own and everyone s else s horror and upset. And while Ma tries to find ways around doctor s orders, young Primrose is finding her...

'Christening? We never said nothing about no christening, Ma, did we?' And so with the appearance of a letter announcing the imminent arrival of Madame Dupont, Pop and Ma Larkin learn that little Oscar and Blenheim - Charley and Mariette's new boy - are to be christened. In fact, once Mr Candy - who will be officiating (much to raven-haired Primrose's delight) - learns that Pop and Ma have neglected the entire Larkin brood, the whole family seems set for a dunking Pop, who needs no excuse to open a few bottles of Dragon's Blood and host the perfick party, rushes out and buys a fun fair to...

'Home looks nice. Allus does though, don't it? Perfick' And so the Larkins - Pop, Ma, Mariette, Zinnia, Petunia, Primrose, Victoria and Montgomery - return from an outing for fish and chips and ice cream one May evening. There, amid the rustic charms of home, they discover a visitor: one Cedric Charlton, Her Majesty's inspector of taxes. Mr Charlton is visiting to find out why junk-dealer Pop hasn't paid his tax - but nothing's that simple at the Larkins. Mariette takes a shine to 'Charley' - as Pop calls him - and before long the family have introduced the uncomplaining inspector to the...

There Pop said. There s the house. There s Gore Court for you. What about that, eh? How s that strike you? Better than St Paul s, ain t it, better than St Paul s? And so Pop Larkin junk-dealer, family man and Dragon s Blood connoisseur manages to sell the nearby crumbling, tumbling country home to city dwellers Mr and Mrs Jerebohm for a pretty bundle of notes. Now he can build his daughter Mariette the pool she s long been nagging him for. But the Larkin s new neighbours aren t quite so accepting of country ways especially Pop s little eccentricities. In fact, it s not long before a wobbly...

Betrayed by her lover, Bella Ford sets out on a journey to find him and exact her revenge. Instead, her search brings her to the home of the Wainwright family. Slowly, the Wainrights restore Bella's trust and she finds happiness. Then, at the traditional Feast of July, the past comes crashing back into Bella's life, and with it, terrible tragedy.

This is H. E. Bates's acclaimed novel about Burma. During World War II, a small English community are forced to flee when Japanese forces invade Burma. Paterson, the manager of a rice mill, organizes the evacuation and takes with him his Burmese mistress and her young brother. The rest of the party take along their prejudices, their pettiness, and their squabbles, and a small enclave of English insularity moves north through Burma. Inevitably, as the journey continues, bitterness, tension, and insoluble conflict unfold. . . Inspired by Bates's period of service in the Eastern theater of war,...