The Darling Buds of May
'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 delights of country living: the lusty scents of wild flowers, the pleasures of a bottle of Dragon's Blood, cold cream dribbled over a bowl of strawberries and hot, hot summer nights.
In fact, soon Charley can't see any reason to return to the office at all . . .
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Imprint: Penguin
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Published: 30/11/2006
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ISBN: 9780141902807
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Length: 144 Pages
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RRP: £8.99
Reviews
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They are absolute comfort books . . . All five titles are being rereleased just in time for summer
The Lady
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Pop is as sexy, genial, generous, and boozy as ever. Ma is a worthy match for him in all these qualities
-, The Times
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As funny as Evelyn Waugh and as enchanting as Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie. Don't miss it
-, Herald
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Pop Larkin, Ma and their progeny . . . are essentially English of the rich and ribald England of Chaucer and Shakespeare. A superb and timeless comedy
-, Scotsman
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A perfick piece of entertainment
-, New York Times
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A wistful daydream about innocence and happiness
-, Spectator
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A pulsing comedy of country manners. A five-alarm blaze of a book. Just about perfick
-, Time
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A gently, anarchic wish-fulfilling daydream
-, The Times
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The Larkins live - these novels please us by escaping definition
-, Guardian
