The Darling Buds of May

I always include major spoilers (hidden), to help with my memory  issues. Read them at your peril! 

The merry Larkin family come home to their idyllic little farm to find a man from the tax office waiting to pursue their failure to send a tax return. They distract him with  food, drink and their beautiful daughter . The story covers about 3 weeks in May-June, culminating ina lively gymkhana on the Larkin's meadow. At the end, the tax man is engaged to the daughter, Ma Larkin is expecting a 7th child, and briefly considers getting married to Pa Larkin, but they decide against it . The skies are always blue, the setting is pastoral perfection, the plentiful food is “perfick”. Written and set in 1950's England when a huge social upheaval had taken place following world war 2. The enterprising Larkins are thriving, but the gentry are poor, and mostly not coping without the servants that they were accustomed to - but not in a sad way. Nothing is sad in this book. The ultimate in cosy reading.