'My Uncle Silas' and the companion volume 'Sugar for the Horse' contain between them the complete short stories about an old countryman,who lives in the heart of rural Bedfordshire.In them he tells a series of tall stories to a young lad,about his womanizing,fighting and the like.At the same time the evocation of the English countryside and life at the turn of the century are brilliantly brought to life.
'The Lily', the first story in this volume begins -
"My Great-uncle Silas used to live in a small reed-thatched cottage on the edge of a pine-wood,where nightingales sang passionately in great numbers through early summer nights and on into the mornings and often still in the afternoons. On summer days after rain the air was sweetly saturated with the fragrance of the pines,which mingled subtly with the exquisite honeysuckle scent,the strange vanilla heaviness from the creamy elder-flowers in the garden hedge with the perfume of old pink and white crimped-double roses of forgotten names.It was very quiet there except for the soft,water-whispering sound of leaves and boughs,and the squabbling and singing of birds in the house-thatch and the trees. The house itself was soaked with years of scents,half-sweet,half-dimly-sour with the smell of wood smoke,the curious odour of mauve and milk-coloured and red geraniums,of old wine and tea and the earth smell of my Uncle Silas himself."
Beautifully written throughout by a master of his craft,Bates seems woefully underrated today. Yet he is one of the finest exponents of the short story,indeed one who could not be bettered.Many of his fine tales are quite dark,but the 'Silas' stories are light and funny and are aided too by the superb illustrations of Edward Ardizzone. ( )