Book info

• Title Cold Comfort Farm
• Author Stella Gibbons
• Year 1932
• Genre Humour

When sensible, sophisticated Flora Poste is orphaned at nineteen, she decides her only choice is to descend upon relatives in deepest Sussex. At the aptly-named Cold Comfort Farm, she meets the doomed Starkadders: cousin Judith, heaving with remorse for unspoken wickedness; Amos, preaching fire and damnation; their sons, lustful Seth and despairing Reuben; child of nature Elfine; and crazed old Aunt Ada Doom, who has kept to her bedroom for the last twenty years. But Flora loves nothing better than to organise other people. Armed with common sense and a strong will, she resolves to take each of the family in hand.

Thoughts

I’ve only heard of this as a vague recollection of some BBC adaptation, but I can’t say I ever saw it or knew what the story was about. Thus, I opened it up with fresh eyes, and ploughed on. It’s sold as a satire, and whilst it doesn’t take itself too seriously, I’m not sure I found it that funny either.

It’s a great tale, though, following Flora as she heads down to some distant relatives and completely turns their lives around. I’m still not 100% sure how she does it, because the only real influence she has on anyone is buying the dress and making Elfine look glamorous. She has a chat with Aunt Ada but we never get to find out what she said, and we never get to find out what happened in the woodshed.

I was so happy when I saw that this is where the phrase “something nasty in the woodshed” comes from. I love stuff like that.

They are some interesting characters, although there are quite a lot of them. It’s not too long, and it’s quite easy to read - except for the odd sentence or two written in local dialect.

Overall, I quite enjoyed it, but I’m not sure I’m any the better for reading it. Except for the woodshed thing.

Rating: 3 / 5