A Breath of French Air: The Larkin Novels, Volume 2
Written by H.E. Bates
Narrated by Philip Franks
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
In the second novel in the "Pop Larkin" series, the Larkin family descends upon Brittany in France.
Like fish out of water, they find out things don't quite turn out their way: the weather is less than ideal, the food is awful and the hotel is in a bad state of repair.
But things slowly improve as Pop manages to sweet-talk Mlle. Dupont, Angela Snow and her sister Iris, and Charley and Mariette celebrate their first wedding anniversary.
A Breath of French Air is a delightful book full of nostalgia, fun and frivolity.
©1959 H. E. Bates (P)2016 Naxos AudioBooks
H.E. Bates
H. E. Bates was born in 1905 in the shoe-making town of Rushden, Northamptonshire, and educated at Kettering Grammar School. After leaving school, he worked as a reporter and as a clerk in a leather warehouse. Many of his stories depict life in the rural Midlands, particularly his native Northamptonshire, where he spent many hours wandering the countryside. His first novel, The Two Sisters (1926) was published by Jonathan Cape when he was just twenty. Many critically acclaimed novels and collections of short stories followed. During WWII he was commissioned into the RAF solely to write short stories, which were published under the pseudonym 'Flying Officer X'. His first financial success was Fair Stood the Wind for France (1944), followed by two novels about Burma, The Purple Plain (1947) and The Jacaranda Tree (1949) and one set in India, The Scarlet Sword (1950). Other well-known novels include Love for Lydia (1952) and The Feast of July (1954). His most popular creation was the Larkin family which featured in five novels beginning with The Darling Buds of May in 1958. The later television adaptation was a huge success. Many other stories were adapted for the screen, the most renowned being The Purple Plain (1947) starring Gregory Peck, and The Triple Echo (1970) with Glenda Jackson and Oliver Reed. H. E. Bates married in 1931, had four children and lived most of his life in a converted granary near Charing in Kent. He was awarded the CBE in 1973, shortly before his death in 1974.
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Titles in the series (4)
The Darling Buds of May: The Larkin Novels, Volume 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Breath of French Air: The Larkin Novels, Volume 2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oh! To Be in England: The Larkin Novels, Volume 4 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Little of What You Fancy: The Larkin Novels, Volume 5 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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Reviews for A Breath of French Air
9 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If you enjoyed volume 1, you’ll enjoy volume 2, too. Same characters with a few French ones thrown in. Très amusant (or is it amusante?)