Philip Franks

It's the 1950's and Sidney "Pop" Larkin has managed to avoid paying taxes for practically his entire working life. He embarks on a number of ill-fated entrepreneurial ventures and his daughter causes more than one head to turn with her flirtatious ways. But the flamboyant Larkins are thoroughly devoted to each other in good times and bad.

The Larkin family's rich spirit is tested when Pop has a heart attack in this series finale by the author of The Darling Buds of May. Pop Larkin enjoys the finer things in life, like good food and drink, but too much of it leads him to a mild heart attack. Placed on bedrest and an uncharacteristically strict diet, the family patriarch soon finds himself in low spirits. As nurses try their hand at helping Pop get well, Ma pursues alternative remedies....

In the second novel in the Pop Larkin series, the Larkin family descends upon Brittany in France. Like fish out of water, they find out things don't quite turn out their way: the weather is less than ideal, the food is awful and the hotel is in a bad state of repair. But things slowly improve as Pop manages to sweet-talk Mlle. Dupont, Angela Snow and her sister Iris, and Charley and Mariette celebrate their first wedding anniversary. A Breath of French...

When Cedric Charlton, an unsuspecting tax inspector, arrives at the door of the Pop Larkin farm, he soon forgets the purpose of his visit: the fun-loving Ma and Pop Larkin distract him at every turn with strawberries, cream, alcohol, and their attractive young daughter, Mariette. Well known by the popular TV series starring David Jason and Catherine Zeta-Jones, The Darling Buds of May is the quintessential feel-good, country romp. It will have you...