The Darling Buds of May

H. E. Bates was born in Northamptonshire, England, in 1905. Bates published his first novel, The Two Sisters, when he was twenty. His most popular creation was the effervescent Larkin family, about whom he wrote five novels, including The Darling Buds of May. In 1973, Bates was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He died in 1974.