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"Cold Comfort Farm," the debut novel by an English author known for her wit, deftly parodies the romanticized tales of rural England that dominated literature at the turn of the century. Drawing inspiration from literary giants like Austen and Hardy, the story follows Flora Poste, a young orphan determined to bring order to her chaotic relatives, the Starkadders. Set in 1930s Sussex, this comic novel explores themes of class divides, personal transformation, and the absurdity of rural life, all while poking fun at the conventions of the genre.
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About the Author... • An English novelist, journalist, poet and short-story writer • Cold Comfort Farm was her first novel • Her family were suburban and middle class but some of her descriptions of the Starkadders is said to have been based on them • Her father was prone to violent outbursts and had suicidal tendencies • Her writing was influenced by Austen and Keats
The Inspiration... • Cold Comfort Farm is a comic novel which parodies the romanticised, and often dour, accounts of life in rural England which were popular at the turn of the century • These novels were often called ‘loam and lovechild’ novels • She parodies work of authors such as D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Hardy and the Brontes
The Inspiration... • Common conventions of these narratives included: • Lengthy descriptive passages on the natural world • Sexualised imagery of the natural world • Strong local dialects • The young female outcast
Characters who suffer tragedy and heartbreak • Class divides • Spiritual reawakenings • Stock characters such as the religious bigot, the overbearing matriarch and the local Lothario
What is a parody? ‘A humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing.’ ‘Parody is imitation, not always at the expense of the parodied text.’ ‘A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author for comic effect.’
The Plot... Set primarily in Sussex in the 1930s, the novel tells the story of Flora Poste - a heroine reminiscent of Austen and Bronte heroines in many ways. Orphaned and penniless at nineteen, she decides to live with relatives she has never met on a farm in Sussex. When she arrives she realises that the Starkadders of Cold Comfort Farm live in a depressing and gloomy world tightly controlled by the matriarch, Aunt Ada Doom.
Abhorring messes, similar to Austen’s Emma, Flora decides to ‘tidy up’ Cold Comfort Farm and everyone on it. She tackles the problems of each member of the family, despite Aunt Ada’s protestations. She makes Elfine a lady eligible for marriage, finds Seth a career in the ‘talkies’, encourages Amos to go on a preaching tour, helps Reuben take over the farm and sends Judith to therapy. Her biggest problem is, of course, Aunt Ada Doom but eventually Flora is able to win Ada around and persuades her to fly off to Paris.
After all of Flora’s meddling has come to fruition, she can then focus on her own happy ending. Charles, the man she loves, comes to pick her up in his airplane and they return to London. A number of sub-plots also exist - Mr Mybug’s crush on Flora, Meriam’s pregnancies etc...
