A Moment in Time (novel)

Plot Introduction

Reception

• Aileen Pippett in The New York Times writes 'Mr. Bates, writing here at the top of his form, has caught the spirit of those desperate days and rendered it in scenes that are both tender and magnificent'
• The Times Literary Supplement as true of most other reviews, criticized Bates for turning 'the Battle of Britain into a gay summer frolic in a pastoral setting.'
• Dean R. Baldwin in his book H.E. Bates: A Literary Life writes 'the novel is a slender story centring on Elizabeth, her grandmother, her silly uncle, half a dozen pilots, and one of their wives, Doll. There is a great deal of RAF slang, partying, stiff-upper-lip stoicism and female understanding. Superficially the novel strikes the right note, but it is a one-fingered melody, tinkling and shallow.'

  Adaptation