“There’s always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm!” / “There’s something nasty in the woodshed!”

Stella Gibbons, author of the brilliant comic novel, ‘Cold Comfort Farm’, was born in London on 5 January 1902. So to celebrate Gibbons’ birthday, we’ve posted two newspaper stories from the early 1930s about her wonderful novel.

The first story is a glowing review of her most famous book, written shortly after the novel was published in 1932.

The second story is a report on a French literary prize (for which she received £40) that she won in 1934 for ‘Cold Comfort Farm’. It’s interesting (and perhaps revealing) that she won awards for her writing in France, but not, so it would seem, in England.

As Stella Gibbons probaby did not receive the wide recognition in the UK that her writing deserved, it’s an apt moment to reflect on the fact that she was a prize-winning author in other countries.

Western Daily Press – Saturday 10 September 1932

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000513/19320910/063/0009

Western Morning News – Friday 04 May 1934

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000329/19340504/086/0007