Down the River by H. E. Bates (Victor Gollancz, 1937)

H. E. Bates transports us back to a simpler, quieter way of life in this ode to the English river.

Victor Gollancz; 1937; 151pp; 265x205x25mm; 0.8kg; bound in cloth with printed dust jacket; monochrome illustrations throughout.

In a recent post on this blog I took a look at H. E. Bates‘ 1936 Through the Woods, part autobiography, part love letter to England’s woodland. This was followed in 1937 by Down the River, which continues the combination of sentimentalism and environmentalism, this time with a focus on English rivers and the communities that surround them. It’s this latter book, in its 1937 Victor Gollancz first edition, that I’ll be looking at here. Some of the material below is duplicated from the Through the Woods post, since the books share much in common from a production point of view.

The book is bound in blue cloth with the title blocked simply in gilt atop the spine. It comes with a dust jacket that is printed with a cover design featuring a woodcut by the illustrator. The publisher clearly understood that the illustrations are a major source of value for this edition and the cover proudly advertises “With eighty-three wood engravings by Agnes Miller Parker”. The spine even goes so far as to credit the book to “H. E. Bates and Agnes Miller Parker”. Also on the spine is the old, British pre-decimal price of 10/6 (ten shillings and six pence). The signatures are sewn and the volume has plain end papers.

The book follows a simple typographic plan with relatively large type that is comfortable to read. The face is not identified, but it has a telltale capital W that suggests it might be a Garamond variant. Everything is printed on a paper that is thick, heavy, and opaque. The paper is matte with a smooth surface, and feels nice to handle.

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Down the River interior details.

Agnes Miller Parker’s woodcuts are simply outstanding—perhaps even more so than the already excellent illustrations in Through the Woods. There are a generous 83 in total, ranging from full-page set pieces to smaller inline figures. There are still depictions of the flora and fauna of English rivers, but this time around there are also more engravings of waterside human life—whether it be country watermills, inland sailing, or simply lazing on the riverbank. Parker’s telltale rounded forms bring a soft, pastoral quality that is a perfect fit for hazy tales of summer days at the water’s edge.

Turning to the text, Bates’s passion for his subject matter is obvious. But I couldn’t help feeling that some of the magic of Through the Woods (which I enjoyed very much indeed) was a little lost here. That book carried the reader on a journey through the woodland year and, in so doing, gave a beautifully evocative sense of what the woods have to offer. Here, there’s much more emphasis on the autobiographical elements. While the charms of rivers are discussed at length, the overarching organising principle was less evident. There’s some degree to which we are taken “down the river”, from source to mouth, but it always feels like a distraction from the next anecdote. Nevertheless, this is another great example of nature writing, likely of particular interest to those who like to spend time by the river—whether fishing, boating, or just taking a pleasant stroll.  ■

Where to buy

You can search for this edition on eBay US*, eBay UK*, AbeBooks US*, and AbeBooks UK*.

* denotes an affiliate link

I purchased my copy from a US-based eBay seller for £60.00 including postage and packaging. I believe this is a little on the expensive side and it’s a bit absurd to have the British edition of the books shipped over the Atlantic from the US to the UK. But this seemed to be in unusually good condition compared to other examples I had seen on the market.

Links

The derrickjknight blog has two posts (one and two) featuring this book and including lovely high-resolution scans of a number of the illustrations.