H.E. Bates Companion

In the final story collection of his lifetime, Bates established a new character, Miss Shuttleworth, in this and in "Oh! Sweeter Than The Berry" (and appearing a third time in the posthumously published "The Proposal"). Here she spars with a young sociologist conducting a survey on various issues, leaving him dumfounded by her apparently mad behavior and no more appreciative of nature than when he started. She may be compared with the characters of Aunt Leonora Elphingstone ("The Picnic" and "The Chords of Youth",) Uncle Silas, and Pop Larkin as a vehicle for Bates's views. In the Daily Telegraph (August 1, 1971), The Song of the Wren (1972), A Month by the Lake & Other Stories (1987). Reprinted in Short Story Monthly (April 1982).