Bates's famous loveable rogue, Uncle Silas, has a unique range of work to his name. For the first time, all of these stories are gathered together in one collection, allowing readers to experience Silas from multiple perspectives. Some tales offer sly, affectionate glimpses of the narrator's great-uncle Silas – the rural oldster of the earthy, boozy, incorrigible school. But there is also an active tenderness as seen in 'The Revelation,' where the narrator watches old Silas being given a bath by his surly, long-time housekeeper – and realises that their relationship is intensely romantic.In 'The Lily', in a voice at once dreamy, devilish, innocent, mysterious and triumphant, 93-year-old Silas recalls his more youthful days of poaching and wooing. Elsewhere, in 'A Funny Thing' Silas chortles over tall tales of his Casanova days, trying to out-lie his dandyish, equally ancient brother-in-law, Cosmo. There are nostalgic vignettes of...

In his second collection of novellas, first published in 1957, Bates tackles bitter romantic deceptions and love triangles in what the Times Literary Supplement calls 'Mr Bates at his best.'In 'Night Run to the West' a greedy wife plots the death of her invalid husband, as seen through the eyes of her lover, a civilised truck-driver who has been innocently drawn into her web. 'Summer in Salander' involves an inert shipping clerk and an attractive, demanding woman who visits his island. Having left her own husband, she selfishly sets out to destroy the young man she meets while on holiday. Bates cites this story as a rare case in which a work of imagination is later simulated in real life, when a similar woman appeared on board a ship where Bates and his wife were returning to the island he used as the story's setting. 'The Queen of Spain Fritillary' looks back at a summer flirtation a woman pursued with an older man when she was seventeen....

The Cruise of the Breadwinner is a tale of the sea. Snowy, a young crew member on a coastal patrol boat, rescues two downed pilots, one English and one German. The dynamic between the two pilots lend universal pity and dignity, while the rotund, clumsily tender Captain gives it humour and humanity.Bates described Snowy as "starry-eyed in his notions of war's glamour and glory, [only] to find himself involved in naked and bloody battle.†? We witness the impact of war's heroics and futility on the boat and the boy during a short, violent voyage off the coast of England, making this a tale of action as well as beauty.The New York Times said that Bates "painted it all with a loose, sure brush that does not waste a stroke.†?