Vanished World

In the first volume of his autobiography, Bates recollects his ancestors, childhood, education and life up to the acceptance of The Two Sisters in 1925. It is filled with rich and loving memories of nature and village life, and of "an unsophisticated, almost naive enjoyment that our contemporary world of fast cars, planes, television and vast motorways never knows and will never know: a vanished world indeed. A vivid, colourful, and evocative recreation of childhood and youth, although it must be admitted that Bates is vague or even inaccurate about some aspects of his life. The book is splendidly illustrated by John Ward.