Collection ID: LMC 1060
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Bates, H. E. (Herbert Ernest), 1905-1974
Abstract:
The Bates mss. II, 1968-1980, consists primarily of the letters of English author Herbert Ernest Bates, 1905-1974, to William Harwood Peden, 1913-1999, scholar of English literature.
Extent:
1 folio
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Bates mss. II, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Herbert Ernest Bates, 1905-1974, was born on May 16, 1905, in Rushden, England. After graduating from Kettering Grammar School, he worked as a reporter in Wellingborough. He published his first work of fiction, a play entitled The Last Bread, in 1926, and then began writing and publishing full-time. His best-known works include My Uncle Silas (1939), Fair Stood the Wind for France (1944), The Scarlet Sword (1950), Love for Lydia (1952), and The Darling Buds of May (1958). Many of his stories portray rural life in the English Midlands, particularly Northamptonshire, where Bates grew up. Some of Bates' work was adapted for film and television, including The Purple Plain (1947) and The Darling Buds of May (1958), adapted as The Mating Game (1959). Bates was also a gardener and wrote many books on flowers. He died in Canterbury on January 29, 1974.

Scope and Content:

The letters deal chiefly with Peden's travels to England and Bates' publications and critics' reaction to them. The publications discussed include: The Blooming World, A Love of Flowers, The Triple Echo, The Vanished World, and The World in Ripeness. The collection also includes letters and Christmas cards from Bates' wife, Marjorie Helen (Cox) Bates, to Peden and his wife, Margaret (Sayers) Peden.

Acquisition information:
Gift: 1981
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged following original order.

Physical location:
Lilly - Folio

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

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TERMS OF ACCESS:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Bates mss. II, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu