Sir Humphrey of Batch Hall plus The Famous Cricket Match fiction
The story so far In the first book in the Batch Magna series The Cuckoos of Batch Magna the old squire of Batch Magna the 8th baronet dies And the life of distant relative Humphrey an amiable overweight short order cook from the Bronx turned into a movie one in which through the ancient law of entailment he found himself to be 9th baronet and squire of a place he d never heard of He even got the girl the right girl in the end The road to that end was rocky and fraught and half the time wasn t going at all in the direction he wanted to go or thought he wanted to go Until the end And now at the beginning of this book Sir Humphrey of Batch Hall the first sequel in the Batch Magna series they marry They settle into Batch Hall and make plans for the future a future which threatens to be short lived Their finances at this early stage rests shakily on the estate s Cutterbach Wood and its stretch of river on shooting and fishing stepping stones to that secure future And they come to have cause to hope that they will get there Until the day a cold wind from the world beyond the hills of their valley visits Batch Magna in the shape of badger baiters discovered in Cutterbach Wood They are routed but their defeat entails such disaster that Humphrey and his new wife are driven to the wall left with no way out but to sell the estate to sell their future in that place And then Miss Wyndham village spinster and amateur sleuth rides to the rescue on the 49 bus Sir Humphrey of Batch Hall plus The Famous Cricket Match Batch Magna 2 Peter Maughan is an ex actor fringe theatre director and script writer He is married and lives in the Welsh Marches the borderland between England and Wales and the backdrop to the Batch Magna series of novels set in a village cut off from whatever the rest of the world gets up to beyond the hills of its valley All the books in the series feature houseboats converted paddle steamers on Batch Magna s river the Cluny and the author lived on a houseboat in the mid 1970s the time frame for the novels on a converted Thames sailing barge among a small colony of houseboats on the Medway deep in rural Kent An idyllic time heedless days of freedom in that other world of the river which inspired the novels set in a place called Batch Ma Peter Maughan is an ex actor fringe theatre director and script writer He is married and lives in the Welsh Marches the borderland between England and Wales and the backdrop to the Batch Magna series of novels set in a village cut off from whatever the rest of the world gets up to beyond the hills of its valley All the books in the series feature houseboats converted paddle steamers on Batch Magna s river the Cluny and the author lived on a houseboat in the mid 1970s the time frame for the novels on a converted Thames sailing barge among a small colony of houseboats on the Medway deep in rural Kent An idyllic time heedless days of freedom in that other world of the river which inspired the novels set in a place called Batch Magna site_link Having read The Cuckoos of Batch Magna earlier this year I thought the sequel would have a job coming up to the very high standard already set Well I was pleasantly surprised right from the start Despite the time interval it was like I had never left the magical world of Batch Magna with its charmingly quirky characters and the sunny lazy days of an endless summer The action takes up just where the previous book left off and the tone pacing and particular flavour are exactly the same which is in itself a rare accomplishment If anything Peter Maughan has become even confirmed in his unique style mastering the material so fully that reading these delightful stories feels like sitting in a riverside pub listening to a friend tell the tale To give a rough idea of the style I could mention All Creatures Great and Small Buds of May To the Manor Born and such but it would really do the Batch Magna books an injustice because Maughan paints with a much finer brush and a richer palette bringing to life a large number of deliciously amusing characters that immediately feel like people we know or would want to know. EBook Sir Humphrey of Batch Hall plus The Famous Cricket matchbox The narrative begins on the morning of the wedding day of Sir Humphrey call me Humph and the Honourable Clementine Wroxley Clem to her many friends The unpredictable summer weather has brought rain or as we are told much pictorially a sudden high downpour off the mountains crossing the border like an invasion swept in on Welsh winds However in true Marches fashion the sun reasserts itself just in time and a wonderful day is had by all A seemingly insignificant event after the ceremony common to so many other weddings will play a pivotal role toward the end of the narrative but for now we are plunged into a bucolic scene of such charm that I found myself remembering with fondness the closest I ever came to partaking of such an event Badminton Horse Trials 1994. EBook Sir Humphrey of Batch Hall plus The Famous Cricket matcha Having followed the motley crew of Batch Magna s regulars through two full books plus as a most welcome unexpected extra to this one the seven chapters of a separate story called The Famous Cricket Match I still have trouble deciding who is my favourite They are all so appealingly human so foible ridden and likeable that it really doesn t matter I just love hearing about them and sharing their adventures big or small happy or sad There is a plenty of action and plot twists and a bit stark realism in this sequel which showcases the author s deft touch in illuminating human nature in all its fascinating nuances Add to this his particular talent for bringing magic to the commonplace and cloaking in wonder seasonal changes that too often go unnoticed and you have a complete work which satisfies on so many levels. Sir humphrey of batch hall plus the famous cricket matchlist It takes a sure hand to make a debauched character like Phineas Cook the loveable scoundrel we all hope will eventually mend his ways but not too much Or the discovery that his son Daniel is not quite the studious reliable youngster he first appeared something to cheer about And who else could make a glass eye so intriguing and the lamentable excesses of those who rashly overindulge in pints of Sheepsnout so amazingly funny I find it difficult to describe what makes this so enjoyable but if you liked the first book or even the excerpt available in the Look Inside you will most definitely love this whole book because it is solidly built and full of gentle humour and lyrical observation of country life in that magical never never dimension between land and river England and Wales reality and wishful thinking The sign of excellent writing for me is that I as indifferent to sport as anyone of my gender and completely ignorant of the rudiments of the game actually found The Famous Cricket Match gripping and sat up reading to the end well after my usual bedtime These are books that I could easily see myself reading again I can hardly wait for the next instalment English Very British and HumorousIn the previous novel the old squire of Batch Magna has died His estate is willed to a distant relative Humphrey Strange who is a short order cook in the NY Bronx He marries Clementine Wroxley and they live in Batch Hall They think of their future and all the activities on their estate shooting fishing house boat rentals But their future is not what they expected They may have to sell the estate But then a sweet Miss Wyndham an amateur sleuth comes to the rescue The characters are delightful novel is has a beautifully crafted story line and it s humorously mysterious A true classic in modern times Enjoy English Who would have thought another book could come out of the first that was so perfect Peter Maughan did it though In a previous review of his first book I compared him to two of my favorite authors In this one I m beginning to think of E. Sir Humphrey of Batch Hall plus The Famous Cricket Match ebookers F Benson and the Lucia books It is so incredible when a writer takes ordinary people and situations and turns them into an extraordinary adventure story Who needs thrillers and mysteries Nothing like a small village for drama Each scene is a gem poaching the poachers baiters losing a cursed jewel how to start a home business per Phineas foray into evening boat tours and some might say marriage counseling There are all different age groups including toddlers mystical otters ageless and heroic characters especially an aging bus riding woman An additional bonus is the story of the Famous Cricket Match from Batch Magna I find cricket boring but hey it s not a slur on any nationality I find American baseball boring too Although I m a woman of peace I like my sports well a bit on the edge After all I grew up in Philly with the Philadelphia Flyers bludgeoning their opponents not once but twice in a row to win the Stanley Cup so ice hockey it is The good news is I might actually like cricket after reading these chapters Nothing boring there I fervently wished for the Flyers 1970s team to appear in the story when Batch Magna s opposing team s best player Lobby by name shows up to even the score Once again though using accidental psychology called Noblesse Oblige Phineas appeals to Sir Humphrey to play invoking England St George and the Alamo for the New Yorker in Humph Surely the next book is on its wayI can hardly wait English Set in the half English half Welsh village of Batch Magna and following on delightfully from The Cuckoos of Batch Magna Sir Humphrey at Batch Hall is a thoroughly enjoyable novel of farce fun and wonder Lyrically told with a wonderful literary feel it s filled with great characters glorious scenery and joyful happenstance enjoying the same foolishly happy disreputable air suggestive of a down at heel aristocrat as its characters and places and truly warming the heart while entertaining the mind. Sir humphrey of batch hall plus the famous cricket matchbook pdf Personally I d recommend readers start with the first novel in this series just because you shouldn t miss anything But Sir Humphrey at Batch Hall stands just as well on its own With odd sometimes hilarious diversions it has its own enjoyable story arc and characters are reintroduced with just enough detail to make them wholly real again from feckless author Phineas to Owain whose stories were in the sounds signs and tracks of the woods and fields to mothers of many to mothers of none aristocrats scam artists hapless Americans and all in between. Sir Humphrey of Batch Hall plus The Famous Cricket Match fiction Both novels and the short story offered at the end of this book have the feel of tales tended by nature grown organically and delightfully unforced The language is beautiful literate and fun The location is vivid and green And the buying of history saving of nature and playing of cricket plus a touch of mystery are all equally enthralling in the rough and tumble of tumble down Welsh Marches innocent error and splendid fun. Sir humphrey of batch hall plus the famous cricket matcha review Disclosure I count myself ridiculously lucky to have been given a free ecopy of such a good book English Another delightful pair of tales about the adventures of the residents of Batch Magna Only an author with Peter Maughan s gift for description could manage to explain the game of cricket in such a way that an American with very little sports knowledge would be able to follow the game as described English
Review in progress English
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