Author | H. E. Bates |
---|---|
Cover artist | James Broom-Lynne [1] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Genre | Comedy novel |
Publisher | Michael Joseph |
Publication date | 1958 |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
ISBN | 0-14-001602-3 |
Followed by | A Breath of French Air |
The Darling Buds of May is a novella by British writer H. E. Bates published in 1958. It was the first of a series of five books about the Larkins, a rural family from Kent. The title of the book is a quote from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate: / Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, / And summer's lease hath all too short a date; [...]
Pop and Ma Larkin and their many children take joy in nature, each other's company, and almost constant feasts. Their only income is through selling scrap, picking strawberries, and selling farm animals or previous purchases that they've tired of. Nevertheless, they joyfully spend money on horses, cars, perfume, fine furniture, and holidays abroad. Pop Larkin opposes taxes and any barriers to free enterprise.
Pop and Ma Larkin celebrate sex, youth, and vitality. In each novella in the series, Pop Larkin kisses, caresses, and pinches most of the women that he encounters. Ma Larkin expects this behaviour and approves of it. When told that Pop has kissed the middle-aged Miss Pilchester, she responds, "Do her good. Make her sleep all the sweeter."
In the first novella, Pop, Ma, and Mariette Larkin attempt to beguile Cedric Charlton, a timid and naive tax inspector, into abandoning his investigation of their finances. Their ultimate goal is for Mariette, who is secretly pregnant at the age of seventeen, to marry "Charley" and thus provide a father for her baby. Ultimately Mariette develops true feelings for Charley and they do become engaged. Charley is never told of the pregnancy, which turns out to be a false alarm.
The novel was loosely adapted into the film The Mating Game in 1959. ITV produced a television series of the novel, and its sequels plus additional original storylines, The Darling Buds of May , which ran from 1991 to 1993. A further adaptation of the novel, The Larkins , was made by ITV and broadcast in October 2021.
Sir David John White, known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, Detective Inspector Jack Frost in A Touch of Frost, Granville in Open All Hours and Still Open All Hours, and Pop Larkin in The Darling Buds of May, as well as voicing Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, the BFG in the 1989 film, and the title characters of Danger Mouse and Count Duckula.
Herbert Ernest Bates, better known as H. E. Bates, was an English writer. His best-known works include Love for Lydia, The Darling Buds of May, as well as My Uncle Silas.
The Darling Buds of May is a British comedy drama television series, produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network, first broadcast between 7 April 1991 and 4 April 1993. The first six episodes of Series 1 and the first two of Series 2 are adaptations of the 1958 novel of the same name, and three of its four sequels, by H. E. Bates. The remaining episodes are original storylines based on the same format.
Pamela Ferris is a Welsh actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including Connie (1985), The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993), Where the Heart Is (1997–2000), Rosemary & Thyme (2003–2006), and Call the Midwife (2012–2016). For her role as Peggy Snow in Where the Heart Is she was nominated three times for Most Popular Actress at the National Television Awards.
Bradley John Walsh is an English actor, television presenter, comedian, singer, and former professional footballer.
Megan Fitzmorris McCafferty is an American author known for The New York Times bestselling Jessica Darling series of young adult novels published between 2001 and 2009. McCafferty gained international attention in 2006 when novelist Kaavya Viswanathan was accused of plagiarizing the first two Jessica Darling novels.
Paul Roberts is an English singer who was the lead singer of The Stranglers between 1990 and 2006.
The Darling Buds are an alternative rock band from Newport, Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel The Darling Buds of May – a title taken in turn, from the third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May".
The Mating Game is a 1959 American comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall and, in his final film role, Paul Douglas. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Reynolds sings the title song during the opening credits. The film was written by William Roberts and very loosely based on the 1958 British novel, The Darling Buds of May by H. E. Bates, which was later adapted into a more faithful 1991–1993 British miniseries, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones in the role that Reynolds plays in the film.
Jill Shalvis is a best-selling American author of over 50 contemporary romance novels, including her award-winning Lucky Harbor series.
Nicole Burnham is the author of several romance novels and books for teens. She writes romances under the name Nicole Burnham and young adult novels under the name Niki Burnham.
Julie Kagawa is an American author, best known for publishing and writing The Iron Fey Series consisting of 15 books including: The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, and The Iron Knight.
Abigail Rokison-Woodall is an author and academic specialising in William Shakespeare, as well as a former actress. She was Director of Studies in English and Drama at Homerton College, Cambridge until the end of 2012. She is now lecturer in Shakespeare and Theatre at the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford upon Avon. She previously played Primrose in The Darling Buds of May.
Larkin is a surname of English, Irish and Russian origin. In England, the name is a relationship name from Lar, a pet form of the personal name Laurence. In Ireland, the name means a descendant of Lorcain or Lorcan, originally found in the form O'Lorcain.
The Darling Buds of May may refer to:
Sabrina Lois Bartlett is an English actress. She is known for her roles in the BBC One miniseries The Passing Bells (2014), the third series of the ITV drama Victoria (2019), and the first series of Knightfall (2017) on History, Bridgerton (2020) on Netflix, and The Larkins (2021), also on ITV.
A Breath of French Air is a 1959 comedy novel by the British writer H. E. Bates. It is the sequel to his popular 1958 novel The Darling Buds of May about a family living in the Kent countryside. The Larkins decide to take their first ever foreign holiday and travel to France, taking their Rolls-Royce with them. However they at first find France disconcertingly unlikable, including the bad weather.
The Larkins is a British comedy drama television series, produced by Objective Fiction and Genial Productions. The series is the most recent adaptation of H. E. Bates novel The Darling Buds of May.
When the Green Woods Laugh is a 1960 comedy novel by the British writer H. E. Bates. It is the third in the series began by the 1958 novel The Darling Buds of May focusing on the Larkins, a family living in rural Kent. The title is a reference to William Blake's poem Laughing Song. It was published in America by Little, Brown under the alternative title Hark, Hark, the Lark!.