Sunday 14 September 2008

Bibliotherapy 2



This week's Bibliotherapy is about one of my favourite books -- Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. It's a complete joy whenever I return to it (which is often), and though I didn't have enough space to write about the Branwell Bronte connection in my Sunday Telegraph column this week, there is an excellent one, in the form of the misguided Mr Mybug, who is writing a biography of the Bronte brother: "'Yes, it's goin' to be damn good,' said Mr Mybug. 'It's a psychological study, of course, and I've got a lot of new matter, including three letters he wrote to an old aunt in Ireland, Mrs Prunty, during the period he was working on Wuthering Heights... You see, it's obvious that it's his book and not Emily's. No woman could have written that. It's male stuff... I've worked out a theory about his drunkenness, too -- you see, he wasn't really a drunkard. He was a tremendous genius, a sort of second Chatterton -- and his sisters hated him because of his genius.'"
Mr Mybug's theory becomes even more misguided (sadly, there is no record of whether Symington or Daphne du Maurier ever read Stella Gibbon's novel, which was published in 1932); it's so wonderfully mad that I've got to quote a bit more... He claims that the Bronte sisters were alcoholics intent on stealing their teetotal brother's work, in order to 'sell it to buy more drink... They were all drunkards, but Anne was the worst of the lot. Branwell, who adored her, used to pretend to get drunk at the Black Bull in order to get gin for Anne... Secretly, he worked twelves hours a day writing Shirley and Villette -- and of course, Wuthering Heights. I've proved all this by evidence from the three letters to old Mrs Prunty.' Needless to say, the three old letters are about nothing but the weather...
Anyway, you can read the column here in the Sunday Telegraph. Or below here, if that's easier...) But if you haven't yet read 'Cold Comfort Farm', then please do get hold of a copy, and discover it for yourself. It's better for the spirits than gin...


Having lived in London most of my life, there are moments when I find myself longing for rural seclusion. But as a teenager, after a family crisis necessitated that we abandon the city and move to a dilapidated Welsh farmhouse at the dead-end of a pot-holed track, I loathed it, and sank into gloom as deep as the surrounding mud. What saved me – or so it seemed at the time – was the discovery in a local library of “Cold Comfort Farm”, a novel by Stella Gibbons, originally published in 1932. The title appeared to me to be an exact description of my new dwelling, and I took myself off to read it halfway up an oak tree (a place I often retreated to in order to avoid the acres of manure and swampy ground).

Within minutes, I was laughing, and also comforted by the resourceful heroine, Flora Poste, a sensible, sophisticated girl who leaves London to live with her distant relatives, the Starkadders, after she is orphaned at 20. Her new home, Cold Comfort Farm, “was crouched on a bleak hill-side, whence its fields, fanged with flints, dropped steeply to the village of Howling a mile away”. Its sullen inhabitants believe themselves to be as doomed as their gangrenous cows, but Flora sorts everyone out, introducing contraception, chic dress sense, improved cleaning methods and a Hollywood agent to the household.

When I first read the novel, I had no idea that it was written as a parody of previous rural melodramas, nor that Stella Gibbons had a thoroughly urban upbringing, albeit in a family as dysfunctional as the Starkadders. But “Cold Comfort Farm” remains as fresh and funny now as it ever was, wherever you live, and the perfect antidote to grey skies, grumpy relatives and something nasty in the woodshed.

13 comments:

BrontëBlog Adm. said...

Fantastic pick and commentary, Justine! I adore Cold Comfort Farm. And the Brontë mentiosn are so funny and witty too.

The cover you posted is the cover of my copy as well, and it's just perfect for such a book. Love it.

Cristina.

Justine Picardie said...

Thanks Cristina. I'm so glad you've discovered the delights of Cold Comfort Farm. What a shame Mr Symington didn't...

Rob Hardy said...

Thanks again for posting your column! I need to give Cold Comfort Farm another look. It's been a while. And I hope more of Stella Gibbons' novels make it back into print. I really enjoyed her currently out-of-print novel The Matchmaker, too.

Cornflower said...

I love Cold Comfort Farm and I still find it hilarious after quite a few re-readings. Despite the relative familiarty I'd forgotten the Bronte reference, so thankyou for reminding me - it's perfect!

Jan said...

Tis pity you're not near Chester! On Sunday Oct 5th ( as part of Chester Literature Festival) we're having a Big Read Film Eve ( it's chaired by Kate Long ) where we "discuss" " Cold Comfort Farm" followed by a viewing of the fabulous 1995 film ( Dame E Atkins, Sir I McKellen, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry etc)
More details of both this AND the Festival are on www.chesterfestivals.co.uk/literature

Justine Picardie said...

Jan -- the evening at Chester sounds great. I wish I could be with you -- I think I'm at the Ilkley and Knutsford literary festivals that weekend.
Rob -- thanks for telling me about The Matchmaker. I think all of her books are out of print, apart from CCF.
Karen -- CCF still makes me laugh out loud, after the umpteenth re-reading. And I always discover something that I'd forgotten in each re-reading. Proof of a classic, I guess...

Anonymous said...

Hooray, it's the fantastic cow-cover! Honestly one of my favourite book jackets ever.

Justine Picardie said...

I remembered that you loved the cow cover, and was thinking of you when I posted it! That's why I chose it instead of the illustration on the other Penguin cover (which happens to be the edition I own).

GlassCurls said...

There are times when coincidence strikes me as being a little too pertinent. I had picked up my father's Folio edition of Cold Comfort Farm yesterday - it seemed perfect for a sunday afternoon, and then I read your article ... great minds and all that.

I've never read it, only seen the film, so I'm looking forward to the treats in store!

Justine Picardie said...

It must be the nights drawing in...
Meanwhile, some of these comments are making me want to watch the film, which I've never had a chance to see before.

GlassCurls said...

Oh, you should see if you can find a copy, Justine, I think it's great (although I'm starting to realise it pales in comparison to the book!). I think it's going cheap(ish) on Amazon ...

Juxtabook said...

I love Cold Comfort Farm (being a suburbanite in a family of country types, I like a little gloat now and again), and I thought of Mr Mybug when I was reading Daphne. As you say, shame Symington didn't! My favourite bit, though there are many, is when Flora buys a little dish mop which becomes worshiped and adored like something misunderstood from outer-space.

Justine Picardie said...

I love the dishmop, too, and also the twigs that have served as the dishmop beforehand -- the thorn twigs that Adam uses for cletterin' the dishes. And Flora has to persuade Adam that he could spend more time with the dumb beasts if he had a nice little dish mop instead... Meanwhile, I worship at the shrine of Stella Gibbons...