Cold Comfort Farm US and UK. The book inspired Mellon family heiress Cordelia Scaife May to name her home "Cold Comfort", and to name her philanthropic foundation Colcom Foundation. Cold Comfort Farm 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'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
Kate Beckinsale found her "energetic and appealing" while Elvis Mitchell of "The New York Times" described her as "luminous but determined." In an uncomplimentary review of the film, Ebert described her as "a good actress, but not good enough to play this dumb." The film has grossed over $77 million at the worldwide box office. In 2002 Beckinsale starred in Lisa Cholodenko's "Laurel Canyon" as a strait-laced academic who finds herself increasingly attracted to her free-spirited future mother-in-law. The independent film was another opportunity for Beckinsale to work with Christian Bale, her "Prince of Jutland" co‑star. She found their sex scene awkward