Cold Comfort Farm

Stella Gibbons

 This is one of three books, given to me by a school friend in high school, that reignited my love of reading. There had been a long hiatus, for reasons I won’t go into here! Suffice to say, it has a special place in my heart.

The redoubtable (kick-arse, as she would be described in modern parlance) Flora Poste, nineteen years old, recently orphaned and poor, descends on Cold Comfort Farm and the Starkadder Family. They are a strange bunch, with sufficient quirks to provide work for a slew of psychologists. Flora’s greatest asset is common sense. She observes and determines what needs to be done to improve the lives of each of her relatives. As such, her visit is transformative in ways that are highly entertaining for the reader.

There is a huge cast of characters, all distinguishable from each other, some with names that foretell their personalities. Is there any doubt that Ada Doom has a pessimistic view of life or that Elfine is a child of nature? Even the cows, Graceless, Feckless, Aimless and Pointless signal the plight of the farm under the charge of dispirited farmhands.

It is a delightful read. Highly recommended. 5 stars