Days End and Other Stories, H. E. Batess first short story collection published in 1928 when he was just 23, depicts the rural lives of quirky characters cast in his distinctive, beautifully drawn style. Each story has a youthful quality, intimate and often profound, perfectly demonstrating the progression of this masterful wordsmith. Bates explores bittersweet young love in The Birthday, the delightful reflections of a man spellbound by the sounds of the sea and the breathing of his new baby in The Holiday, and two old friends in Fishing, described by David Garnett as a tale that could hardly be shorter and could hardly be slighter, but it is a complete and perfect little work of art, full of humour and containing a profound reflection on human life.” This edition of Days End and Other Stories, published by Bloomsbury Reader to celebrate H. E. Batess 110th birthday anniversary, is enhanced with a bonus story In View of the Fact That a rare gem previously published in a small pamphlet in 1927, and never reproduced.