Description

The last of the five Larkin family novels (and the last Bates novel) is, until more than halfway through, much more serious than any of its predecessors. Pop Larkin s heart attack leads to an uncharacteristic depression; neither the romance of Primrose and Reverend Candy nor Edith Pilchester s drowning of her grief in drink distract from a somberness striking in an otherwise comic series. However, with the Barnwell sisters announcing their fund for saving England from a tunnel to France (including a road through the Larkin property), Pop is revived. The remainder of the book, including the obligatory banquet at the end, displays the usual Larkin joy of life and features a particularly delightful character in Angela Snow s father, a Queen s Counsel who charms Ma and the other women.