Cold Comfort Farm

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

By: Stella Gibbons

Narrated by: Patricia Gallimore, Miriam Margolyes, Elizabeth Proud, full cast

Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Patricia Gallimore and Miriam Margolyes star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of the classic comic novel. Strong of will and slender of ankle, 20-year-old orphan Flora Poste is blessed with every virtue save that of being able to earn her own living. Casting around for suitable relatives with whom she can make her home, Flora alights on the mysterious Starkadders and, ignoring the horrified shrieks of her friends, heads down to darkest Sussex.

There she is confronted by an exceptionally odd cast of characters: grief-stricken Judith, fervently religious Amos, the lusty smouldering Seth, wild and mysterious Elfine and, of course, the invisible tyrant Great Aunt Ada Doom who saw something nasty in the woodshed. Many would be overcome by the simmering passions of the Starkadder family, but not Flora. All they need is a little organising.

Stella Gibbons' deliciously witty parody has been delighting readers since 1932 and retains its original sunny charm in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.

©2017 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2017 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Great fun at Cold Comfort Farm

Blythe, funny, robust English humor and satire delivered by superb actors and charming sound effects. A delight.

Such a wacky set of characters!

I love quirky characters!! You will really enjoy this if you have the same desire for unpredictable, charming souls. Family, family, family...

A marvelous adaptation!

Being a huge fan of the book and the movie I am delighted to discover that this adaptation is every bit as lovely!

Briliant adaptation

Wuthering Heights gets a long overdue Jane-Austen-make-over.
The result: hilarious and sensible.
This BBC dramatisation does full credit to the novel & takes it even 1 step up.
Highly recommended.

A little on the dull side for my taste

The traditional British comedy was ok. It did come together at the end of the story. The actors/narrators were great. But the story lacked engaging features to keep me coming back.

Thoroughly enjoyable!

I listened to this while wallpapering my kitchen and found myself dreamily feeling a part of the morose, yet lively Starkadder family. I do so love a cheeky, “frivolous” story told in British accents! I recommend this to anyone who loves reading Jane Austen, or watching Downton Abbey.

Mediocre radio dramatization not audio book

I love English literature, the BBC and the movie of Cold Comfort Farm so I thought I'd love this, but I couldn't get more than halfway through. The enunciation was often so poor I couldn't understand what was being said (and I'm good with accents of all sorts, especially English ones as my mother is from England). The sound levels were so poor that the sounds effects were often significantly louder than the actors, to the point it was painfully loud. There were quite a few "setting the scene" moments that went way longer than necessary, so long it took me right out of the story. If you really like radio dramatizations, you might like this, but I was so disappointed I returned it within 24 hours.