My Uncle Silas

Uncle Silas Series #1

by H.E. Bates

In his preface to ‘My Uncle Silas’, Bates says that the character of Silas and a number of the stories in this volume are firmly based on real events in the life of Joseph Betts, husband of the author’s great aunt Mary Ann. Bates characterizes Silas as "the original Adam, rich and lusty and robust" and "a protest against the Puritanical poison in the English blood,” and he adds: "to those who find these stories too Rabelaisian, far-fetched, or robust, my reply would be that, as pictures of English country life, they are in reality understated." This volume contains: The Lily, The Revelation, The Wedding, Finger Wet Finger Dry, A Funny Thing, The Sow & Silas, The Shooting Party, Silas the Good, A Happy Man, Silas & Goliath, A Silas Idyll, The Race, The Death of Uncle Silas, The Return.
Published in England in October 1939, these 14 tales offer sly, affectionate glimpses of the narrator's great-uncle Silas--a rural oldster of the earthy, boozy, incorrigible school. In a voice at once dreamy, devilish, innocent, mysterious and triumphant, 93-year-old Silas recalls his more youthful days of poaching and wooing. In ""The Revelation,"" the narrator watches old Silas being given a bath by his surly, longtime housekeeper--and realizes for the first time that their relationship is (or at least Once was) intensely romantic. Elsewhere, Silas chortles over tall-tales of his Casanova days, trying to out-lie his dandyish, equally ancient brother-in-law Cosmo. (In one anecdote, Silas hides from a jealous husband in a cellar for days, eating ""stewed nails"" to keep from starving to death.) There are nostalgic vignettes of roof-thatching, pig-wrestling, and grave-digging--plus, in ""A Happy Man,"" a somewhat more serious sketch of Silas' old chum Walter, an outwardly cheerful ex-soldier who eventually succumbs (with traumatic memories of 1880s Asian campaigns) to madness. And, inevitably, ""The Death of Uncle Silas"" arrives at the close--though, even on his deathbed, Silas is sneaking snorts of wine . . . while, in an epilogue, the narrator shows that he's inherited a wee bit of his great-uncle's mischief.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, Humor

154 pages, ebook

First published October 1, 1939

About the author

Herbert Ernest Bates, CBE is widely recognised as one of the finest short story writers of his generation, with more than 20 story collections published in his lifetime. It should not be overlooked, however, that he also wrote some outstanding novels, starting with The Two Sisters through to A Moment in Time, with such works as Love For Lydia, Fair Stood the Wind for France and The Scarlet Sword earning high praise from the critics. His study of the Modern Short Story is considered one of the best ever written on the subject.

He was born in Rushden, Northamptonshire and was educated at Kettering Grammar School. After leaving school, he was briefly a newspaper reporter and a warehouse clerk, but his heart was always in writing and his dream to be able to make a living by his pen.

Many of his stories depict life in the rural Midlands of England, particularly his native Northamptonshire. Bates was partial to taking long midnight walks around the Northamptonshire countryside - and this often provided the inspiration for his stories. Bates was a great lover of the countryside and its people and this is exemplified in two volumes of essays entitled Through the Woods and Down the River.

In 1931, he married Madge Cox, his sweetheart from the next road in his native Rushden. They moved to the village of Little Chart in Kent and bought an old granary and this together with an acre of garden they converted into a home. It was in this phase of his life that he found the inspiration for the Larkins series of novels -The Darling Buds of May, A Breath of French Air, When the Green Woods Laugh, etc. - and the Uncle Silas tales. Not surprisingly, these highly successful novels inspired television series that were immensely popular.

His collection of stories written while serving in the RAF during World War II, best known by the title The Stories of Flying Officer X, but previously published as Something in the Air (a compilation of his two wartime collections under the pseudonym 'Flying Officer X' and titled The Greatest People in the World and How Sleep the Brave), deserve particular attention. By the end of the war he had achieved the rank of Squadron Leader.

Bates was influenced by Chekhov in particular, and his knowledge of the history of the short story is obvious from the famous study he produced on the subject. He also wrote his autobiography in three volumes (each delightfully illustrated) which were subsequently published in a one-volume Autobiography.

Bates was a keen and knowledgeable gardener and wrote numerous books on flowers. The Granary remained their home for the whole of their married life. After the death of H. E Bates, Madge moved to a bungalow, which had originally been a cow byre, next to the Granary. She died in 2004 at age 95. They raised two sons and two daughters.

primarily from Wikipedia, with additions by Keith Farnsworth

Reviews

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a chance find and an unexpected delight. H. E. Bates was a prolific and popular author but this is the first time I’ve read any of his work. The fourteen stories in My Uncle Silas come close to perfection. The titular hero, as Bates explains in his preface, was based on his own great uncle, a man called Joseph Betts who could in his great old age remember the arrival of news from the Crimean War by a messenger from London on a white horse. Silas is one of the great characters; a man in his nineties for whom the life force is as strong as in his early manhood; a small man with large appetites for women, wine (his homemade elderberry and cowslip for preference) and the telling of stories, usually much embroidered with the telling and the taller the better. If that all sounds rather light, well so it is, but beware, for Bates has a way of suddenly turning things dark, as in stories like The Wedding, A Happy Man and The Return. Bates writes in an enticing, luxuriant style and an eye for country life with all its joys and tragedies. I was fortunate to read an edition featuring the original illustrations by that great artist, Edward Ardizzone, which were the perfect accompaniment to the text.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written - bucolic tales of a simpler time. Uncle Silas was a rogue, a character. His antics are lovingly detailed in these stories. I enjoyed reading this. However, Silas is a drunk and a rascal. He's crazy. He's a cad. His behavior isn't what we'd tolerate today - reading about him is one thing, I don't think I'd have been able to tolerate him back then either. This belongs to that special class of story that sees alcoholism as funny - "look at the funny man falling down, staggering about, making off color remarks, grabbing women, fighting with men, firing his gun..." so funny on paper. Remember the Dudley Moore film "Arthur"? It always bothered me that people thought he was funny - that his being drunk all the time was funny, that his driving around drunk was funny...it was tragic. If he'd have killed a few people driving around drunk it would have been a different kind of film real quick; or if his sardonic butler had been cleaning up his vomit or rinsing his pissed in pants - oh, yes that would be hysterical. My Uncle Silas entertains - but one feels bad about feeling good.

[Susanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd love to give it 4,5 stars...but that's impossible...so...have 5.

Anyway, it is a delightful collections of stories about old rascal Silas who drinks with the best of them, curses with the best of them, tricks everybody and basically tries everything to be what he is - a lovable old rascal.

The stories are told from his great-nephew's view who is more or less constantly visiting Silas and is told many a tale. By the way of this, the stories also paint the picture of happy rural life in England.

My personal favourite in this edition is the story "Revelations."

All in all, it is a delightful and relaxing read, makes me dream of summer.

[Tim Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bates ... H.E. Bates ... ah, perfick! The Darling Buds of May chappie. You may recall the TV series that captured an era quite well, or the book that did it even better.

This set of stories, published in 1939, captures a different rural life, rascally Uncle Silas. But it also contains some elegant descriptive language, and an underlying story of the bond between Silas and his housekeeper. It's based on a real character who lived 184x-193x. What a refreshing change it is to get away from lords and ladies and fox hunts and footmen, or from the plodding coppers and fog of Dickensian London, and into a world where your neighbour would thatch your roof and if you wanted some wine you'd get it from your own cellar, elderberry or cowslip probably.

I had some ancestors who would have fit right in here, so maybe I'm biased.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1939, My Uncle Silas is a collection of 14 short stories about the rural reprobate of the title. These very short stories were originally published individually in magazine form in approximately the 5 years preceding their inclusion in the collection. The stories are well written, combining a terrific blend of humour and poignancy in the short time it takes to read them. Very enjoyable.

[Michelle Le Grand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these stories and the world that Uncle Silas inhabited. Read this book and you will be transported back to those days in the country.

[Chris Chamberlain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, about a gentler, less hectic world, in which Uncle Silas, the old rascal, has marvellous adventures.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyable rural tales of reprobate uncle in Bedfordshire countryside.

[☪︎* vel ✰.*]

ha sido para inglés, meh 🤷‍♀️

[Gareth Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous evocation of country characters from a century ago. HE Bates ranks with Laurie Lee as a chronicler of bygone country life. Poetic, humorous, nostalgic, earthy writing.

[Felicity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another for me from the wonderful H.E. Bates and Uncle Silas is a great character! He’s the perfect scallywag, full of talk and very little action. He’ll argue a point til the cows come home rather than admit he’s wrong. Likes more than a drink or two - keep ‘em coming is how he likes it. I doubt you could get a better storyteller and - it’s all the honest truth mind! These short stories will make you laugh. Silas is impossible. He’ll drive you nuts but you’ll love him to bits. They don’t make ‘em like Silas anymore. Perfectly illustrated with sketches by Edward Ardizzone.

[Jenine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My boss lent me this book and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable books I have read in a long time. My Uncle Silas is a funny, heart-warming gem of a book. Each chapter is a short story. Particularly enjoyable chapters were the shooting party and the story of the lady who is unwittingly given cold "whiskey" tea! Had me in stitches! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an enjoyable read that will keep you laughing.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was lovely, especially the first few stories which are immaculately told with perfect prose that I would die to be able to produce. The invocation of a time gone, a quieter, slower time, is blissfully done and yet the characters are all as modern as we are, with the same desires and fears. Such sublime writing.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are beautifully crafted, evocative tales about the English countryside and an old scamp, the sort of fellow we all recognize. Just do not, do not watch the BBC series starring Albert Finney, which gave the stories a treacly Hallmark Channel glow of lost innocence and merry olden days.

[Laura]

Classic tales about the crafty old rural rogue. Abridged and read by David Neal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007d96j

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abridged and read by David Neal.

How delicious!

ETA - T'was delicious... and sadly lovely

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read first in December 2008. See also the short stories of Unlce Silas edition!

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have seen the video of the series with Albert Finney, so was interested in the Uncle Silas stories. They are wonderful and not exactly like the series. What a great character.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be so funny and enjoyable. Give it a go.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have reread this many times: it is beautifully written. My all-time favourite book.

[Sarah Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely portrait sketches of the ageing Uncle Silas , so refreshing to dip into another era of thatched cottages, privies, orchards, home made wine and horse and traps. Silas despite being 90 odd is portrayed as being more or less permanently drunk on his home made wine , and having a very high opinion of himself particlularly his physical prowess at allotments digging , his popularity with women, pub landlords etc
But he is depicted none the less as a character, a real presence who is basically harmless.