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H. E. Bates

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H. E. Bates

CBE
BornHerbert Ernest Bates
(1905-05-16)16 May 1905
Rushden,Northamptonshire,England
Died29 January 1974(1974-01-29)(aged 68)
Canterbury,Kent,England
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
GenreNovels, short stories
Notable worksLove for Lydia,The Darling Buds of May,My Uncle Silas,Fair Stood the Wind for France

Herbert Ernest BatesCBE(16 May 1905 – 29 January 1974) was a British writer, known for his gritty realistic short stories (he wrote more than 25 collections) and novels set in the early to mid 20th century of England mainly. He was from the countryside and adored flowers and gardening (writing two books on gardening), so much of his writing is informed by this. The semi-autobiographical "Love for Lydia" has detailed descriptions of nature in winter, and of the big grounds of Aspen Hall where he meets Lydia. His best-known works includeLove for Lydia,Fair Stood the Wind for France,The Darling Buds of May,as well asMy Uncle Silas.Many of his short stories were turned into tv series by British television in the 1970s.

Early life

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Herbert Ernest Bates was born on 16 May 1905 inRushden,Northamptonshire,and educated atKettering Grammar School.After the end of school, he worked as a reporter and a warehouse clerk.

Career

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Typically, Bates' best-known works are set in the English countryside, particularly theMidlandsincluding his nativeNorthamptonshireand the 'Garden of England',Kent,the setting forThe Darling Buds of May.Bates was partial to taking long walks around the Northamptonshire countryside, which often provided the inspiration for his stories. His love for the countryside is exemplified in two volumes of essays,Through the WoodsandDown the River.Both have been reprinted numerous times. Several of Bates's works, suchThe Bride Comes to EvensfordandLove for Lydia,are set in the fictional town of Evensford, which is based on Bates's hometownRushdenin Northamptonshire.

Bates discarded his first novel, written when he was in his late teenage years, but his second, and the first to be published,The Two Sisters,was inspired by one of his midnight walks, which took him to the small village ofFarndish.There, late at night, he saw a light burning in a cottage window and it was this that triggered the story.[1]He was working briefly for the local newspaper inWellingborough,a job which he hated, and then later at a local shoe-making warehouse, where he had time to write; in fact the whole of this first novel was written there. This was sent to, and rejected by, eight or nine publishers untilJonathan Capeaccepted it on the advice of its respected Reader,Edward Garnett.[2]Bates was then twenty years old. More novels, collections of short stories, essays, and articles followed, but did not pay well.

World War II short stories

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During World War II, he was commissioned into theRoyal Air Forcesolely to write short stories. TheAir Ministryrealised that it might create more favorable public sentiment by emphasizing stories about the people fighting the war, rather than facts. The stories were published originally in theNews Chroniclewith the pseudonym "Flying Officer X". Later they were published in book form asThe Greatest People in the World and Other StoriesandHow Sleep the Brave and Other Stories.His first financial success wasFair Stood the Wind for France.After a posting to the Far East, this was followed by two novels about Burma,The Purple Plainin 1947 andThe Jacaranda Tree(published in 1949), and one set in India,The Scarlet Sword(published in 1950).[3][4]

He was also commissioned by the Air Ministry to writeThe Battle of the Flying Bomb,but because of various disagreements within the government, it was cancelled, and then publication was banned for 30 years. It was discovered by Bob Ogley and published during 1994 with the titleFlying Bombs over England.[5]Another commission which has still to be published isNight Interception Battleconcerning the difficulty of tracking enemy aircraft at night.[6]

Post-war work

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Other novels followed after the war; he averaged about one novel and a collection of short stories a year, which was considered very productive at the time. These includedThe Feast of JulyandLove for Lydia.His most popular creation was the Larkin family inThe Darling Buds of May.Pop Larkin and his family were inspired by a person seen in a local shop in Kent by Bates and his family when on holiday. The man (probably Wiltshire trader William Dell, also on holiday) had a huge wad of rubber-banded bank notes and proceeded to treat his trailer load of children with Easter eggs and ice creams.[7][8]Other characters were modelled on friends and acquaintances of Bates, such as Iris Snow (a parody ofIris Murdoch) and the Brigadier who was modelled on the father ofJohn Bayley,Murdoch's husband.[9]

Thetelevision adaptation,produced after his death by his son Richard and based on these stories, was a tremendous success. It is also the source of the American movieThe Mating Game.TheMy Uncle Silasstories were also made into a UK television series from 2000 to 2003. Many other stories were adapted to TV and others to movies, the most renowned beingThe Purple Plainin 1954 andThe Triple Echo;Bates also worked on other movie scripts. In 2020 ITV commissioned a new television series of The Darling Buds of May, with the titleThe LarkinsstarringBradley Walsh,Joanna Scanlan,Sabrina BartlettandTok Stephen.[10]The first episode aired in October 2021.[11]

Personal life

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In 1931, he married Madge Cox, who lived two streets away from him in his native Rushden. They moved to the village ofLittle ChartinKentand bought an old granary and this together with an acre of garden they converted into a home. Bates was a keen and knowledgeable gardener who wrote many books on flowers. The Granary remained their home for the whole of their married life.

They had two sons and two daughters: Ann, Judith, Richard and Jonathan.Jonathan Bateswas nominated for anAcademy Awardfor his sound work on the 1982 movieGandhi.[12]Richard became a television producer, Bates's granddaughter,Victoria Wicksis an actress and script consultant.[13][14]

Death and honours

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Bates died on 29 January 1974 inCanterbury,Kent, aged 68. A prolific and successful author, his greatest success was posthumous, with the televisionadaptationsof his storiesThe Darling Buds of Mayand its sequels as well as adaptations ofMy Uncle Silas,A Moment in Time,Fair Stood the Wind for FranceandLove for Lydia.In his home town of Rushden, H.E. Bates has a road named after him to the west of the town, leading to the local leisure centre. His archive is held at theHarry Ransom Centerat theUniversity of Texas at Austin.[15]After Bates' death Madge moved to a bungalow, which had originally been a cowbyre,next to the Granary. She died in 2004 at the age of 95.

Bibliography

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References to H.E. Bates

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  • Bates's novelLove for Lydiaserved as an inspiration forDonna Lewis's 1996 smash hit "I Love You Always Forever".[19]
  • Literary study of his works: Dennis Vannatta,H.E. Bates(Twayne's English Authors Series). Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1983.ISBN0-8057-6844-0
  • Bates' idyllic depiction of rural Britain is referred to by the character 'I' in cult British comedyWithnail & I
  • His short story 'The Mill' featured as the extract in the first paper of theAQAEnglish LanguageGCSEin 2019.

Notes

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  1. ^Vannatta, Dennis, 1983, H.E. Bates, Boston, Twayne Publishers,ISBN0-8057-6844-0
  2. ^Baldwin, Dean, 1987, H.E. Bates, Selinsgrove, Susquehanna University Press,ISBN0-941664-24-4
  3. ^"The Jacaranda Tree:: HE Bates".hebates.com.Retrieved19 August2023.
  4. ^"The Scarlet Sword:: HE Bates".hebates.com.Retrieved19 August2023.
  5. ^""The Battle of the Flying Bomb.":: HE Bates ".hebates.com.
  6. ^""The Night Interception Battle 1940-1941.":: HE Bates ".hebates.com.
  7. ^"The family that inspired hit TV series The Darling Buds of May".Evening Standard.UK. 18 October 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 20 February 2014.Retrieved18 January2014.
  8. ^"Our family holiday went down in TV history".The Guardian.London. 26 August 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 25 September 2014.Retrieved18 January2014.
  9. ^"The Man From Nowhere".The Guardian.London. 3 February 2007.Retrieved30 August2020.
  10. ^"The Larkins Homepage:: HE Bates".hebates.com.
  11. ^"Meet the cast and characters of The Larkins".Radio Times.
  12. ^Monks, Mick (3 December 2008)."Obituary: Jonathan Bates".The Guardian.London.Retrieved9 October2011.
  13. ^"Richard Bates".IMDb.
  14. ^"Victoria Wicks".IMDb.
  15. ^"H. E. (Herbert Ernest) Bates".norman.hrc.utexas.edu.Retrieved26 August2022.
  16. ^"The Last Bread, A Play in One Act. | H.E. Bates Companion".hebatescompanion.com.
  17. ^The Last Bread, A Play in One ActatGoogle Books
  18. ^The Day of Glory - A Play in Three ActsatGoogle Books
  19. ^Crowe, Jerry."Runner Up Donna Lewis' 'I Love You Always Forever' Is Stuck at No. 2 on Billboard Chart Behind A Certain Dance Song".The Spokesman-Review.Retrieved25 November2016.
  • Eads, Peter, 1990, Give Them Their Life, The Poetry of H.E. Bates, Evensford Productions Ltd,ISBN0 9516754 0 0
  • Eads, Peter, 1995, The Life and Times of H.E.Bates, Northamptonshire County Council Libraries and Information Service,ISBN0-905391-17-9
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