The Berry Scene

1947 short story collection by Dornford Yates

The Berry Scene

First edition cover

Author| Dornford Yates
Series| Berry books
Genre| Comic novel
Publisher| Ward Lock & Co[1]

Publication date

| 1947[1]
Media type| Print
Pages| 286[1]
Preceded by| The House That Berry Built
Followed by| As Berry and I Were Saying

The Berry Scene is a 1947 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer), featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters.

## Plot

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The book consistes of ten short stories, filling in some of the gaps in the earlier books, with a brief prologue recounting an episode of Berry's schooldays. Other characters from Yates's novels, including the Lyvedens (Anthony Lyveden), the Beaulieus (The Stolen March) and Jenny Chandos (She Fell Among Thieves), appear briefly.

## Chapters

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Chapter  | Title  | Setting

|
|

| Prologue  | Harrow School
I  | In Which I Drive Daphne To Brooch on Midsummer Day, and Berry Gives Evidence  | Hampshire, 1907
II  | In Which Withyham Pays The Piper, But Berry Calls The Tune  | Hampshire, 1907
III  | In Which We Talk With Big James, and Daphne Has Eyes To See  | Hampshire, 1907
IV  | In Which We Play For The Village, And I Consider A Conversation Piece  | Hampshire, 1914
V  | In Which I Make Daphne A Present, And Berry Favours The Bold  | London and Hampshire, 1924
VI  | In Which Berry Is Attacked By Lumbago, And Jill Is Escorted To France  | Hampshire and France, 1924
VII  | In Which Berry Meets Mr. Wireworm, And I Keep The Truth To Myself  | Hampshire and London, 1924
VIII  | In Which We Fight For Our Rights, And An Old Acquaintance Does Us A Very Good Turn  | Hampshire and London, 1934
IX  | In Which Berry Keeps A Diary, And Tells Us A Fairy-Tale  | Hampshire, Portugal and London, 1935
X  | In Which Berry Dispenses Justice, And I Attend Fallow Hill Fair  | Hampshire, 1936
| Epilogue  | Portugal, 1946

## Critical reception

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In his 1982 biography of Dornford Yates, AJ Smithers described the writing as 'elegant' while noting that certain chronological inconsistencies had by this time crept in to the narrative: "the reader must accept the fact without argument that Jonah bought his first Rolls at the age of sixteen. Readers are not expected to be too clever by half. If they are, they must suffer the consequences."[2] "Mercer had reached a point where such things could not be helped."[3]

## References

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1. ^ a b c "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
2. ^ Smithers 1982, p. 77.
3. ^ Smithers 1982, p. 203.

## Bibliography

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* Smithers, AJ (1982). Dornford Yates. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-27547-2.

* v
* t
* e

Books by Dornford Yates

'Berry' books|

* The Brother of Daphne (1914)
* The Courts of Idleness (1920)
* Berry and Co. (1921)
* Jonah and Co. (1922)
* Adèle and Co. (1931)
* And Berry Came Too (1936)
* The House That Berry Built (1945)
* The Berry Scene (1947)
* As Berry and I Were Saying (1952)
* B-Berry and I Look Back (1958)

'Chandos' books|

* Blind Corner (1927)
* Perishable Goods (1928)
* Blood Royal (1929)
* Fire Below (1930)
* She Fell Among Thieves (1935)
* An Eye for a Tooth (1943)
* Red in the Morning (1946)
* Cost Price (1949)

Other volumes|

* Anthony Lyveden (1921)
* Valerie French (1923)
* And Five Were Foolish (1924)
* As Other Men Are (1925)
* The Stolen March (1926)
* Maiden Stakes (1928)
* Summer Fruit (1929, US)
* Safe Custody (1932)
* Storm Music (1934)
* She Painted Her Face (1937)
* This Publican (1938)
* Gale Warning (1939)
* Shoal Water (1940)
* Period Stuff (1942)
* Lower than Vermin (1950)
* Ne'er-Do-Well (1954)
* Wife Apparent (1956)

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