Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

Parody as a source of humor is a treat best consumed in small doses--when it continues too long it loses its punch. Thus, while this 1932 semi-classic novel is very funny at the beginning, its humor wears a bit thin before the end, even though it is relatively short.

The target of parody here is the melodramatic Victorian novel. We have rustic servants speaking in the vernacular, a religion-mad fanatic, a mad woman shut up in her room, a dark family secret, a fey elf-like young girl who roams the moors, a magnetically sexy stud. All these and more of the same ilk are the residents of Cold Comfort Farm. They seem to owe their personas to the characters created by the Bronte sisters, Thomas Hardy, and D.H. Lawrence. Into their midst comes the practical Flora, a distant relative, who believes "that curtains must be washed and life generally tidied up before anyone could even begin to think of enjoying it." She immediately begins a self-imposed mission of bringing sensible order into their lives, much like Emma in Jane Austin's novel.

The writing style varies from a light and breezy style when Flora is in the forefront to a portentous and sexually charged style when the Cold Comfort relatives are pictured. The funniest bits are the parodies of the melodramatic writing style, with its verbosity and sexually symbolic nature references.

Gibbons also includes some satiric jabs at trends of her time, including the self-important artistic intelligentsia.

Who will best appreciate this book? People who are somewhat familiar with Victorian novels, people who happen to be British, people who liked Bridget Jones's Diary. I liked it, but it just went on a little too long for me.