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A Mulher que Tinha Imaginação
‘The Woman Who Had Imagination & Other Stories’, published in February 1934, was Bates’s fourth collection of short stories, and, taken as a group, they display considerable variety: rural pieces, tales of children and old folk, urban stories, an autobiographical item, and two psychological studies. Several leading critics noted that the stories indicated a maturity that had not been so evident in previous tales. The full list of contents: the title story, plus The Lily, The Story Without an End, The Gleaner, Time, A German Idyll, For the Dead, The Wedding, The Waterfall, Innocence, Millennium Also Ran, Sally Go Round the Moon, The Brothers, and Death of Uncle Silas.
- GenresShort Stories
44 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1934
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About the author
H.E. Bates
278 books194 followersHerbert 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 19, 2021
3,5*
A MULHER QUE TINHA IMAGINAÇÃO
Mosaico
“À torreira da tarde, cansado de passear pelos relvados cheios de gente, ao sol impiedoso, e ainda mais aborrecido do que estivera no carro, Henry via pessoas a entrarem e a saírem da casa por uma porta ao lado do terraço. Seguindo-as achou-se num vestíbulo espaçoso e alto que tinha o estranho cheiro da fresquidão duma igreja e o mesmo silêncio profundo (...). Sentia o ar tão fresco na sua cara ardente como uma folha que se lhe tivesse colado.
Contemporâneo de W. Somerset Maugham e também como ele prolífico em contos, diz-se de H.E. Bates na pequena introdução deste livro que foi influenciado por Tchekhov “no respeitante à terna recriação da paisagem e do ambiente que nela se desenvolve”. Isso é realmente visível em “A Mulher que Tinha Imaginação”, em que o protagonista passa grande parte do conto numa viagem lenta com o seu coro para chegar ao local onde se realiza um concurso de canto: os vastos jardins de uma enorme mansão delapidada e praticamente ao abandono, uma imagem que tanto me encanta nas histórias inglesas. Não resisto aos livrinhos da Mosaico, que são para mim uma verdadeira relíquia, e este foi uma boa companhia durante um par de horas.
“-Perdi-me – esclareceu Henry.
-Perdido?
Pôs-se de pé, muito direita, enquanto ecoava a palavra esfregando com os dedos da mão esquerda na encadernação do livro de cabedal amarelo. Tentando olhá-la, estava abalado com vergonha. O homem velho virou-se também muito empertigado, olhando-o com uns olhos fatigados, claros e vazios.
A MULHER QUE TINHA IMAGINAÇÃO
Mosaico
“À torreira da tarde, cansado de passear pelos relvados cheios de gente, ao sol impiedoso, e ainda mais aborrecido do que estivera no carro, Henry via pessoas a entrarem e a saírem da casa por uma porta ao lado do terraço. Seguindo-as achou-se num vestíbulo espaçoso e alto que tinha o estranho cheiro da fresquidão duma igreja e o mesmo silêncio profundo (...). Sentia o ar tão fresco na sua cara ardente como uma folha que se lhe tivesse colado.
Contemporâneo de W. Somerset Maugham e também como ele prolífico em contos, diz-se de H.E. Bates na pequena introdução deste livro que foi influenciado por Tchekhov “no respeitante à terna recriação da paisagem e do ambiente que nela se desenvolve”. Isso é realmente visível em “A Mulher que Tinha Imaginação”, em que o protagonista passa grande parte do conto numa viagem lenta com o seu coro para chegar ao local onde se realiza um concurso de canto: os vastos jardins de uma enorme mansão delapidada e praticamente ao abandono, uma imagem que tanto me encanta nas histórias inglesas. Não resisto aos livrinhos da Mosaico, que são para mim uma verdadeira relíquia, e este foi uma boa companhia durante um par de horas.
“-Perdi-me – esclareceu Henry.
-Perdido?
Pôs-se de pé, muito direita, enquanto ecoava a palavra esfregando com os dedos da mão esquerda na encadernação do livro de cabedal amarelo. Tentando olhá-la, estava abalado com vergonha. O homem velho virou-se também muito empertigado, olhando-o com uns olhos fatigados, claros e vazios.
May 23, 2021
After reading H.E Bates' story "The Woman Who Had Imagination", my comment was
"I could better read another thing".
But still, it deals with the psychoanalysis of women and so I didn't keep it back unfinished.
"I could better read another thing".
But still, it deals with the psychoanalysis of women and so I didn't keep it back unfinished.
October 30, 2015
I enjoyed a few of these stories, but overall they did little to pull me in. I'm not a huge fan of short stories, so it could be that too.
August 14, 2015
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015...
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews