{"product_id":"9781448214914","title":"Seven Tales and Alexander","description":"\u003ci\u003eSeven Tales and Alexander\u003c\/i\u003e beautifully captures a spectrum of emotions from innocent childhood and early adolescence, to those of simple-hearted and uninquiring old age. On its original release in 1929 (The Scholartis Press), The \u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e observed that Bates has 'by seeing with a child's eyes, found a world of marvellous and strange beauty, and has given the smallest shades of change and emotion the magnitude and drama they have in the minds of children and poets.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 'The Child' we meet a young girl mesmerised by the sea seen through a multi-coloured window, and, in contrast, 'The Comic Actor' sees an unsuccessful farmer who, encouraged by his devoted family, fulfils a life ambition by participating in a village play.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBates draws on his own experiences of the barber shops of his youth in 'The Barber'. Forced to visit them on Saturdays, he was made to wait until the barber had served the army of 'black-necked, poaching, shoemaking, prizefighting, often stinking men.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe title story, 'Alexander', follows a young boy as he travels with his uncle by horse cart to the garden of an eccentric old lady, where each year they pick fruit. The boy becomes enamoured with a young girl, meets a darkly cunning and cynical poacher, picks a forbidden apricot as a gift for the girl, and is consequently thrust into first reflections on pleasure, pain, and life itself in this most charming story.","brand":"Bloomsbury USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47155258196208,"sku":"9781448214914","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781448214914_p0.jpg?v=1763828255","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781448214914","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}