A school reader for secondary pupils, in the OXFORD BOOKWORMS. BLACK SERIES STAGE 6. This new series offers students at all levels the opportunity to extend their reading and appreciation of English.

Cold Comfort Farm is a comic novel by English author Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb. Following the death of her parents, the book and 's heroine, Flora Poste, finds she is possessed "of every art and grace save that of earning her own living". She decides to take advantage of the fact that "no limits are set, either by society or one and 's own conscience, to the amount one may impose on one and 's relatives", and settles on visiting her distant relatives at the isolated Cold Comfort Farm in the fictional village of Howling in Sussex. The inhabitants of the farm – Aunt Ada Doom, the Starkadders, and their extended family and workers – feel obliged to take her in to atone for an unspecified wrong once done to her father.

"As a nation of immigrants, many of us suffer from a vague but painful homesickness we do not understand", he writes. With a voice that is at once sorrowful, soul-searching, and hilarious, Sutter cures that ill by sharing his passion for and faith in his rugged locale. Like a lovers' quarrel with a peculiar place, Cold Comfort conveys deep insights about what makes the place where you live your true home."--pub. desc.

Available for the first time since its original publication more than fifty years ago, Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm is a charming collection whose hilarious title story features Christmas dinner with the Starkadders before Flora's arrival. With Adam playing Santa while draped in Mrs. Starkadders's shawls, the family shares their traditional "Christmas pudding"-a mélange containing random objects of doom foretelling the coming year: a coffin nail for death, a bad sixpence for financial ruin, and a menthol cone to indicate that the lucky recipient will go "blind wi' headache." These lively tales will delight anyone who loves Stella Gibbons and her signature wit.

'Superior crime fiction set in Iceland' The Times 'As chilling as an Icelandic winter' S. J. Bolton Following her promotion and working now from Reykjavik, Gunnhildur is given responsibility for two cases - the first in tracking down an escaped convict who's keen to settle old scores, and the other, the murder of a TV fitness presenter in her city centre apartment. With the police short staffed and underfunded following the financial crash, Gunnhildur and her team set about delving into the backgrounds of both, where they uncover some unwelcome secrets and some influential friends of both who have no wish to be in the public eye. Set in an Iceland that is coming to terms with the deepening recession, Gunnhildur has to take stock of the whirlwind changes that have taken place as she investigates criminals at opposite ends of the social scale as some uncomfortable links appear between the two cases. The second dark and atmospheric thriller in Quentin Bates's Icelandic crime series. A chilling page-turner perfect for fans of Jo Nesbo, Henning Mankell and Søren Sveistrup's The Chestnut Man. Praise for Quentin Bates: 'A great read - leaves you craving the next installment' Yrsa Sigurðardóttir 'A perfect book to curl up with in front of the fire' The Bookbag 'Well written and absorbing' Woman's Way 'Captures the chilly spirit of Nordic crime fiction . . . Fans of Arnaldur Indridason's Reykjavík mysteries will want to add Bates to their reading lists' Booklist '[A] crackling fiction debut ... palpable authenticity' Publishers Weekly 'A superb new series' Eurocrime

SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"What they have to say about Cold Comfort:Another masterpiece from Father Becker that explores the Catholic positions on abortion and homosexuality while presenting us with a thrilling search for the elusive murderer of Senator Gene Wainwright’s wife.It is solidly pro-life and a joy to read.Daniel Eisenbacher Husband and father The Mohr “twins” keep you coming back for more and more.Donna Jeanne McGahey Educator In this volume, Father Becker teaches me, as he has for more than two decades: I must never stop learning, and I move toward wisdom and grace in part by thinking, and caring, and conversing, about what matters...and by inviting everyone to do likewise.Dan Sophy Attorney and former student A second delicious bite (after Father, Forgive Them of life and politics in a Jesuit college preparatory served up by Fr. Luke Wolfe, an aging Jesuit priest dabbling serendipitously in murder detective work with the assistance of as lively a bunch of youngsters as the gaggle of thieves and pickpockets apprenticing themselves to Dickens’ villains in Oliver Twist.Becky Boudway Author of Treasure in the Dust Cold Comfort;keeps the readers on the edge of their seats;from the beginning when Fr. Luke makes a frightening discovery while on a forage for a midnight snack until the exciting, surprise ending. A real page turner, Cold Comfort''s intriguing mystery is made even more enjoyable;by unique characters, clever humor and Fr. Luke''s wisdom. Definitely a must read! Sue Widemark Author/independent medical researcher

A sly and satirical fairytale by the author of Cold Comfort Farm Unavailable for decades, Stella Gibbons's Nightingale Wood is a delightfully modern romance ripe for rediscovery by the many fans of Cold Comfort Farm. Poor, lovely Viola has been left penniless and alone after her late husband's demise, and is forced to live with his family in their joy­less home. Its occupants are nearly insufferable: Mr. Withers is a tyrannical old miser; Mrs. Withers dismisses her as a common shop girl; and Viola's sisters-in-law, Madge and Tina, are too preoccupied with their own troubles to give her much thought. Only the prospect of the upcoming charity ball can lift her spirits-especially as Victor Spring, the local prince charming, will be there. But Victor's intentions towards the young widow are, in short, not quite honorable.

Drawing on both poststructural discourse analysis and feminist standpoint theory, Malacrida makes a critical contribution to qualitative methodologies by developing a feminist discursive ethnography of the construction of AD(H)D in two divergent cultures.

Cold Comfort is a book of poems written out of deep affection and concern for the world in a dangerous time. An urbane stylist, Anderson characteristically focuses on rural and small-town America, where the events of personal history intersect those of the larger world.

A brand-new Ian Rutledge e-original novella from Charles Todd, including a special excerpt from the next Rutledge novel, Hunting Shadows, available this January. It’s 1915, and the Great War is barely six months old. Lieutenant Ian Rutledge has left behind his career at Scotland Yard and is now serving in France. He’s temporarily with the sappers—men digging underground tunnels toward the German lines to set off explosions under the enemy trenches. In his sector, Rutledge and his men set their charges and get out of the tunnel as fast as possible. But the charges don’t go off. It’s madness to go back down and find out why, but Rutledge and Private Williams volunteer. They barely make it back before the tunnel blows up. Rutledge suspects that two Welsh miners cut the fuse too long, even though they deny it. Then Williams confides to Rutledge that these same men, half brothers Taffy Jones and Aaron Lloyd, have tried before this to kill him. And they’re determined enough to risk other men’s lives as well. Rutledge discovers in the midst of a raging battle that murder has made its way to France, and he must find a way to prove it.