The Darling Buds Of May
by H E Bates
The lovable, irrepressible Larkin family who live in Kent “somewhere at the end of the rainbow” made their debut in H.E. Bates’ novel “The Darling Buds of May” in 1957 and went on to further delight and beguile audiences both on stage and screen. Pop, who makes a fortune from a variety of deals but has never paid any income tax, lives in rural idyllic bliss with generous-hearted Ma and their six children. When a young earnest tax official, Mr Charlton, turns up one hot May afternoon in 1957 to investigate, he is immediately bewitched by eldest daughter Mariette and it isn’t long before he succumbs to the boisterous Larkin family charm and largesse.
