Gibbons wrote cold comfort farm while working for on the books. Winner of the 1933 femina vie heureuse prize, cold comfort farm is a. She went to the north london collegiate school and studied journalism at university college, london. When sensible, sophisticated flora poste is orphaned at nineteen, she decides her only choice is to descend upon relatives in deepest sussex. Everyone on the gloomy farm is completely around the twist, but flora tries to sort everything out. Jun, 2016 this podcast scripts catchup from the really like this book miniseries on the mighty tradition of british humour in fiction is on stella gibbons fine satire of rural life and literary pretentiousness, cold comfort farm 1932. A popular and clever work, cold comfort farm was awarded the femina vie heureuse prize in 1933. Thats the opening of cold comfort farm, a classic british novel published in 1932 and still going strong. Cold comfort farm project gutenberg selfpublishing.
All 67 characters in cold comfort farm are listed by chapter with character descriptions included. Buy a cheap copy of cold comfort farm book by stella gibbons. Her first novel, cold comfort farm, won the femina vie heureuse prize for 1933. When one thinks about this movie, one always returns to the cast and how wellsuited they were for their roles. Stella dorothea gibbons was an english novelist, journalist, poet and shortstory writer. Their world is cold comfort farm the changing seasons and the animals. We had a great time laughing while discussing this book because it definitely was a very strange novel.
Cold comfort farm by stella gibbons and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Amongst her other novels are miss linsey and pa, nightingale wood, westwood, conference at cold comfort farm, and beside the pearly water 1954. One of the bbcs 100 novels that shaped the world a hay festival and the poole vote 100 books for women selection a hilarious and merciless parody of rural melodramas and one of the bestloved comic novels of all time, cold comfort farm by stella gibbons is beautifully repackaged as part of the penguin essentials range. This novel, for me, is primarily famous for coining the phrase there is something nasty in the woodshed. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own bookclub. Lawrences and thomas hardys earthy, melodramatic novels. Gibbons uses her asterisk system to dramatize a conflict between two literary. Stella gibbons cold comfort farm is one of those novels that has outgrown the object of its lampoon. Read cold comfort farm, by stella gibbons online on bookmate in gibbonss classic tale, a resourceful young heroine finds herself in the gloomy, overwrought world of. It may sound like the beginning of a nineteenth century novel about a plucky orphan finding her way in the world, although expensive, athletic and prolonged is something of a giveaway. Flora poste, a recently orphaned socialite, moves in with her country relatives, the gloomy starkadders of cold comfort farm, and becomes enmeshed in a web of violent emotions, despair, and scheming, until flora. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doomladen accounts of rural. A novelist, poet and shortstory writer, her first novel, cold comfort farm, won the femina vie heuruse prize for 1933.
Winner of the 1933 femina vie heureuse prize, cold comfort farm is a wickedly funny portrait of british rural life in the 1930s. Oct 26, 2006 buy cold comfort farm penguin classics reprint by gibbons, stella, truss, lynne isbn. Her purple prose is, i suspect, mostly known through the passages that stella gibbons highlights with a couple of asterisks to let the reader know that a moment of pure piss taking. Cold comfort farm is a delightful tale based on the book of the same name. But shes confident in the support of friends and distant relatives as she gathers life experiences for her writing. She then worked for ten years on various papers, including the evening standard. How pleasant it would be to be a sensible old woman of adequate means who is not chasing about boys of 25 nor dieting nor having her lips rouged. Flora poste is modeled after heroines of fiction, particularly of jane austen, who flora compares herself to.
Read cold comfort farm, by stella gibbons online on bookmate in gibbonss classic tale, a resourceful young heroine finds herself in the gloomy, overwrought world of a hardy or bronte novel and pr. Cold comfort farm is a comic novel by english author stella gibbons, published in 1932. No 57 cold comfort farm by stella gibbons 1932 the book for which gibbons is best remembered was a satire of latevictorian pastoral fiction but went on to influence. Aug 08, 2019 thats the opening of cold comfort farm, a classic british novel published in 1932 and still going strong. In england in the early 1930s, twentyyearold flora poste kate beckinsale, recently orphaned, and left with only one hundred pounds sterling a year, goes to stay with distant relatives on cold comfort farm. The first edition of the novel was published in september 8th 1932, and was written by stella gibbons. Cold comfort farm is a satire of lust in the loam books. Complete summary of stella gibbons cold comfort farm. Or, indeed, the brisk way with one, two or three asterisks in which she.
If you love british comedy, try cold comfort farm telly. What is your favorite work that takes a bite out of literary. The enunciation was often so poor i couldnt understand what was being said and im good with accents of all sorts, especially english ones as my mother is. Cold comfort farm goodreads the guardian independent book companion a witty portrait of rural england in the early twentieth century. Cold comfort farm by stella gibbons read online on bookmate. Discussion questions for cold comfort farm by stella gibbons. This study guide consists of approximately 43 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of cold comfort farm. Gibbons was working for the evening standard in 1928 when they decided to serialise webbs first novel, the golden arrow, and gibbons was given the job of summarising the plot of. Critics are apparently reluctant to admit cold comfort farm to be. I m giving this 5 stars for the book, which is a classic, but let the buyer beware.
Cold comfort farm, comic novel by stella gibbons, published in 1932, a successful parody of regional and rural fiction by such early 20thcentury english writers as mary webb and d. I do recommend nightingale wood, reprinted in virago modern classics a couple of years ago. In cold comfort farm, our heroine, flora, becomes an orphan and decides to. Jul 29, 20 her first publication was a book of poems the mountain beast 1930 and her first novel cold comfort farm 1932 won the femina vie heuruse prize for 1933. Thus, begins cold comfort farm, setting the tone for this tale of one young busybody, miss flora poste. The vocabulary of cold comfort farm adds to the novels atmosphere, from the names of the characters, animals, and vegetation to the idiomatic country terms. Nancy pearl, nprs morning edition the deliriously entertaining cold comfort farm is very probably the funniest book ever written the sunday times, london, a hilarious parody of d. Cold comfort farm has eclipsed the fame of many of the novels it parodies, such as the works of sheila kayesmith and mary webb. I love english literature, the bbc and the movie of cold comfort farm so i thought id love this, but i couldnt get more than halfway through. Her purple prose is, i suspect, mostly known through the passages that stella gibbons highlights with a couple of asterisks to let the reader know that a. Cold comfort farm has been and remains one of my favorite movies of all time.
It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doomladen accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as mary webb. She makes a very wise choice when she decides shell stay with the starkadders at cold comfort farm which she expects to be appalling but interesting and where shell use her talents to fix things and people. During her job at a newspaper, the author stella gibbons had to prepare a synopsis of the house in dormir forest by rural novelist mary webb, and thought it was simply absurd. Buy cold comfort farm penguin classics reprint by gibbons, stella, truss, lynne isbn. Cold comfort farm is very funny, and a sendup of novels written about. Cold comfort farm is a 1995 british comedy film directed by john schlesinger and produced by the bbc and thames television, an adaptation of stella gibbons 1932 book of the same name, the film stars kate beckinsale, joanna lumley, ian mckellen and rufus sewell. Dec 15, 20 cold comfort farm is a parody of the doomy, tragic, closetotheearth gothic novels of writers like mary webb and dh lawrence, and, earlier, thomas hardy. Cold comfort farm is a comedic novel, a gentle parody of romantic pastoral novels, of societal mores and the like. Amongst her other novels are miss linsey and pa 1936, nightingale wood 1938, westwood 1946, conference at cold comfort farm 1959 and beside the pearly water 1954. Amongst her other novels are miss linsey and pa 1936, nightingale wood 1938, westwood 1946, conference at cold comfort farm 1949 and beside the pearly water 1954. Some of the paragraphs have stars by them and it took me the. The main character, flora poste, is reminiscent of jane austen and bronte heroines in many regards. Cold comfort farm by stella gibbons, book of a lifetime. Winner of the 1933 femina vie heureuse prize, cold comfort farm is a wickedly funny portrait of british rural life in the 1930.
Cold comfort farm is a parody of the doomy, tragic, closetotheearth gothic novels of writers like mary webb and dh lawrence, and, earlier, thomas hardy. Well also post the next book coming up in bookclub. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 233 pages and is available in paperback format. What is the author trying to achieve with her parody of rural country life. Cold comfort farm is a 1995 british romantic comedy film directed by john schlesinger and produced by the bbc and thames television, an adaptation of stella gibbons 1932 book of the same name, the film stars kate beckinsale, joanna lumley, ian mckellen, and rufus sewell.
Oct 20, 2014 cold comfort farm was first published by longmans in 1932, and was, according to the critic lynne truss, labelled middlebrow, to gibbonss disadvantage among the critics. Cold comfort farm by stella gibbons, paperback barnes. Im giving this 5 stars for the book, which is a classic, but let the buyer beware. Cold comfort farm was first published by longmans in 1932, and was, according to the critic lynne truss, labelled middlebrow, to gibbonss disadvantage among the. Cold comfort farm book by stella gibbons thriftbooks. Cold comfort farm was her reaction not only to webb, but to other rural novelists as well. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Free download or read online cold comfort farm pdf epub cold comfort farm series book. It is so funny and the people have quite a different view of the world than the rest of society. A hilarious and merciless parody of rural melodramas, cold comfort farm 1932 is one of the bestloved comic novels of all time. A satire and parody of the pessimistic ruralism of thomas hardy, his followers and especially precious bain by mary webb the loam and lovechild genre, as some called it, cold comfort farm introduces a selfconfident young. Jan 28, 2012 stella gibbons cold comfort farm i was inspired to reread this novel for our book club after listening to radio 4. She determines to reorganise the dour cold comfort farm in a way that benefits each of its inhabitants, along the way hoping to lift the curse that befell the place many years earlier, when. Flora poste, a recently orphaned socialite, moves in with her country relatives, the gloomy starkadders of cold comfort farm, and becomes enmeshed in a web of violent emotions, despair, and scheming, until flora manages to set things right.
Set in the 1940s, this story about a young orphaned girl who goes off to live with her distant relatives and bring. Cold comfort farm is a parody of the doomy, tragic. But flora loves nothing better than to organize other people. About cold comfort farm quite simply one of the funniest satirical novels of the last century. Jun 17, 2011 her first publication was a book of poems, the mountain beast 1930, and her first novel, cold comfort farm 1932, won the femina vie heureuse prize. Stella gibbons wrote lots of books but hardly any of the others have been kept in print. Set primarily in sussex, england, circa 1930s, cold comfort farm is a parody of late eighteenthearly nineteenth century agricultural literature, such as novels by d. Her first publication was a book of poems the mountain beast 1930 and her first novel cold comfort farm 1932 won the femina vie heuruse prize for 1933. On monday, january 4th, the booked for the day book group met to discuss, cold comfort farm by stella gibbons. Cold comfort farm by stella gibbons smart bitches, trashy books. Mar 11, 2020 but flora loves nothing better than to organize other people.
In england in the early 1930s, 20 year old flora poste, recently orphaned and left with only 100 pounds a year, goes to stay with distant relatives on cold comfort farm. Cold comfort farm unabridged by stella gibbons in gibbonss classic tale, a resourceful young heroine finds herself in the gloomy, overwrought world of a hardy or. How does the descriptive language add to the humor and satire. This book was our book club choice and we all loved it. Cold comfort farm characters listed with descriptions. Here are a few things we discussed during the meeting. Gibbons later wrote two sequels, christmas at cold comfort farm and conference at cold comfort farm, but neither sold as well as the original novel, and the titles are obscure today.