Now the basis for a major motion picture from the producers of Howard's End and The Remains of the Day--a brooding, suspenseful novel of sensuality and vengenance, set amid the fields and villages of 19th century England. Bella Ford, jilted by her unscrupulous lover, plans revenge that ends in a catastrophic act of violence. s for a major motion picture from the producers of Howard's End and The Remains of the Day--a brooding, suspenseful novel of sensuality and vengenance, set amid the fields and villages of 19th century England. Bella Ford, jilted by her unscrupulous lover, plans revenge that ends in a catastrophic act of violence. H. E. Bates was born in Northamptonshire in 1905. He published his first novel,  The Two Sisters , when he was twenty. His most popular creation was the effervescent Larkin family, about whom he wrote five novels, including  The Darling Buds of May . In 1973 he was awarded the CBE. He died in 1974.