Bücher von Stella Gibbons

Flora Poste wurde in jeder Kunst und Fertigkeit unterrichtet, nur nicht in der, für den eigenen Lebensunterhalt zu sorgen. Da ihre Eltern ihr weit weniger vermacht haben als erwartet, ist sie gezwungen, eine Weile bei ihren Verwandten im tiefsten Sussex unterzukommen. Schnell zeigt sich, dass der Alltag auf der Cold Comfort Farm die schlimmsten Vorurteile einer neunzehnjährigen Londonerin über das Landleben bestä­tigt. Was sich nämlich ihre Verwandtschaft nennt, ist ein liebenswerter, aber verrückter Haufen: Floras Tante Judith Starkadder verbringt den Tag damit, ihren Sohn Seth zu betüdeln, ein Don Juan vom Lande. Judiths Mann Amos macht als Freizeitprediger allen die Hölle heiß. Natur­kind Elfine, die Tochter, führt ein verwildertes Elfenleben. Und über allem thront die uralte Ada Doom, die sich seit zwanzig Jahren in ihrem Schlafzimmer verschanzt, um von dort aus den gesamten Haushalt zu tyrannisieren. Flora beschließt, das Leben der Starkadders in Ordnung zu bringen - ob die das wollen oder nicht.

...for the first time in her life, she was living as she had always unknowingly wanted to live: in freedom and solitude, with an animal for close companion. Her new life had acted upon her like a strong and delicious drug.Ivy Gover, a curmudgeonly middle-aged charwoman with some slightly witchy talents, inherits a rural cottage in Buckinghamshire and takes up residence near the tiny village of Little Warby. Having settled in with a rescued dog and a pet pigeon, she manages, despite her anti-social instincts, to have surprising effects on her new neighbours, including Angela Mordaunt, a spinster still mourning her dead beau, Coral and Pearl Cartaret, ditzy sisters who have just opened a tea shop, the local vicar, and wealthy Lord Gowerville, whose devotion she earns by healing his beloved dog. But her biggest challenge will likely be the 12-year-old runaway who shows up at her door...Blending vivid characters and a deep knowledge of human nature, this is also a funny and poignant tale of the challenges and freedoms of old age and solitude. The Woods in Winter was first published in 1970 and was the last novel Stella Gibbons wrote for publication. This new edition features an introduction by twentieth-century women's historian Elizabeth Crawford.'Stella Gibbons sees people as they really are but she observes them so lovingly as well as acutely that one loves them too' Elizabeth Goudge

Terence danced, alas, only fairly well. She tried to hide the fact from herself.Una Beaumont, nineteen years old and desperate to leave the small Cornish town of Tregulla to try her luck on the London stage, finds her hopes dashed by her mother's sudden death and its financial implications. She broods about, working with her father on their small flower farm, but her boredom melts with the arrival of a womanizing artist, Terrence Willows, and his charming sister Emmeline (who spends her time 'footling about'). On hand to witness the resulting sparks are Una's childhood friend Barnabas, his brother Hugo, recovering from a car crash, their military father, who loathes tourists, and an array of other colourful locals. Soon, Terrence's dancing ability is the least of the facts Una is hiding from herself...First published in 1962 and out of print for decades, The Weather at Tregulla is a funny, touching tale of ill-advised young love against the glorious backdrop of the Cornish coast. This new edition features an introduction by twentieth-century women's historian Elizabeth Crawford.'The characters are wonderfully well drawn, with a clear-eyed unsentimental sympathy of which Miss Gibbons has the secret' Sphere

Cherry Hellin'sworth is fulfilling her Community Service stint by working at a Village Hall as the Functions Manager. But she's not terribly good at it. On one evening she manages to to hire out the hall to the Village Drama Society, the Cricket team, a Singing Telegram and a Country and Western group called the'southern Fried Chickens.13 women, 13 men

Flora Poste, orphaned at twenty, decides to go and live with her relatives at Cold Comfort Farm. Once there she discovers they exist in a state of chaos and feels it is up to her to bring order.