In the final book of the series, Pop Larkin is in bed after a heart attack brought on by too much of what he fancied – but a seductive nurse is all he needs for a full recovery.

Mariette and Charley decide to get baby Blenheim christened, leading to a wholesale christening of all the other Larkin children, general chaos and the vicar run ragged.

The Larkins descend on Brittany and find the French weather, food and hotel less than ideal; but things improve as Pop sweet-talks the local ladies.

Home on leave from the Second World War, HE Bates took solace in the English countryside. His lyrical evocation of its pear blossom, gardens and old stone cottages are dramatically interspersed with stories of battle, and beautifully illustrated by CF Tunnicliffe’s woodcuts. Knowing the war will change everything, and with no desire to return to the old, feudalistic rural life, he asks ‘Have we anything to put in its place?’

HE Bates's tribute to the countryside was first published in 1942 and contains his musings on the passing seasons, the behaviour of animals and the character of country people – themes he would return to in The Darling Buds of May. Illustrated by CF Tunnicliffe.