The Blossoming World. An Autobiography, Volume Two.

London: Michael Joseph, 1971 (October); Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1971. Illustrated by John Ward. The other volumes of the trilogy are The Vanished World (1969) and The World in Ripeness (1972).

Bates's second volume of autobiographical memoir covers his career from 1926 to 1941, beginning with his meeting with Edward Garnett, his early literary mentor. He recalls time spent with Garnett, his wife Constance, and their son David and he talks of various other people influential in his early literary and personal life. Also covered is his marriage and the move to the Granary in Kent, some aspects of his family life, a trip to the United States, and the proposal by the Air Ministry that led to his work as "Flying Officer X." Primarily, Bates discusses his works as they were written and published, and his many literary influences.

The Times (December 24, 1971, p. 8) noted "its power to evoke...memories in the reader with a poignant simplicity and superb clarity of expression. It is a writer's life in progress described in splendid and fascinating detail."

Reviews:
Times (December 24, 1971, p. 8, Kay Dick, attached)
Times Literary Supplement (October 8, 1971, p. 1217, Arthur Calder-Marshall, attached)
Unidentified Periodical, October 31, 1971, Rebecca West.

ID: 
a110
Title: 
The Blossoming World. An Autobiography, Volume Two.
Genre: 
Essay
Page Count: 
184
Word Count: 
ca. 58000
Publisher: 
Michael Joseph
University of Missouri Press
Year of Publication: 
1971
Document Type: 
Autobiographical
AttachmentSize
a110 Times.Pdf582.29 KB
a110 TLS.pdf178.63 KB
a110 West.pdf440.79 KB