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Bassett

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The Tower Guesthouse lies nestled between the beech woods of Buckinghamshire. It is run by the unlikely partnership of balmy Miss Padsoe and young, cockney Miss Baker - divided by class and age, they are determined to dislike each other. Through their tale and the interwoven tribulations of two young lovers, Gibbons' sparkling novel explores the heart of friendship and what unites us.

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1934

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About the author

Stella Gibbons

60 books411 followers
Stella Dorothea Gibbons was an English novelist, journalist, poet and short-story writer.

Her first novel, Cold Comfort Farm, won the Femina Vie Heureuse Prize for 1933. A satire and parody of the pessimistic ruralism of Thomas Hardy, his followers and especially Precious Bain by Mary Webb -the "loam and lovechild" genre, as some called it, Cold Comfort Farm introduces a self-confident young woman, quite self-consciously modern, pragmatic and optimistic, into the grim, fate-bound and dark rural scene those novelists tended to portray.

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5 stars
40 (22%)
4 stars
57 (31%)
3 stars
62 (34%)
2 stars
19 (10%)
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2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for JimZ.
1,308 reviews789 followers
January 4, 2023
3.5 stars for me. 🙂 🙃

An enjoyable read...this was written two years after the publication of her hit, ‘Cold Comfort Farm’, that I guess at times she wishes wasn’t a hit because everybody all the time wanted to talk about Cold Comfort Farm and not about her most recent efforts. I think that book continued to plague her during her writing career after its publication. Were I to have such problems! 🙂

The back cover of the book gives a synopsis of the book that is only half complete. It does involve the story of two spinsters, Miss Baker and Miss Padsoe, who attempt to open a boarding house in Bassett (an area in England in the Southampton area), which is what the blurb on the back cover summarizes. Quite humorous story of the two women. But the story also involves a young man, George, who lives with his sister, Isabella, and their mother. They are comfortably well off. The mother hires a companion, a young woman by the name of Queenie, who becomes George’s love interest. The sister is not very happy about that

The book has several racist passages about Blacks, and I can’t tell whether it is because Stella Gibbons was a racist (I don’t think so) or that it was a sign of the times of 1930s England, and she was just inserting a dose of reality into her book. And I should say that at the end of the novel, there is a more positive outcome when Blacks are mentioned in regard to their boarding house. But there was also a negative comment about gay people... 😕

It is interesting that there were a couple of mentions of the Nazis in a negative manner, portending what was to come just several years later. For example:
• At the end of June, Mrs. Shelling decided to leave the paradise and pay a visit to Aunt Katt in Innsbruck, hoping to see her once more alive before those Nazis got hold of her, as they seemed to do, in the long run, of anyone who could read, write, and think for themselves.

Note:
• This book was a re-issue by Vintage Classics. They re-issued about 5-7 of her oeuvre which is fantastic. Two other re-issuers of her books are Dean Street Press and Penguin Books.
• There is a semi-autobiographical element to the novel...from the last review below: According to Reggie Oliver, Stella admitted she modeled the Shelling menage on the family of the man who ended their engagement; he, too, lived with his sister and mother and traveled in the “free love” set. JimZ: Reggie Oliver is Stella’s nephew.

Reviews:
• This reviewer, Simon Thomas, overall liked the book but had a minor criticism that I agree with, and I think that accounted for my 3.5 stars instead of a higher rating... https://www.stuckinabook.com/bassett-...
• This reviewer, Kathleen Adelaide, aka Kat, has the same criticism! https://mirabiledictu.org/2018/10/01/...
https://neglectedbooks.com/?p=8388
Profile Image for Mary Durrant .
348 reviews186 followers
March 31, 2015
Full of wit and charm.
The Tower guest house is run by Miss Padsoe and the young cockney Miss Baker.
An unlikely pair who come together through love and friendship.
Also the tribulations of two young lovers.
How will it end and what sort of guests arrive?
I loved this one of Stella's and would recommend it!
388 reviews23 followers
January 19, 2013
Enjoyed this, but it's far from being my favorite Gibbons. She sets up this very fun story in which a Cockney woman goes to the country to run a B&B with a fallen gentlewoman, but suddenly takes a detour into a rather boring and depressing love story with a couple of fairly unlikable people. I would have liked it a lot more if she'd stuck with the characters she started out with instead of getting sidetracked with a pretty run-of-the-mill romance.
Profile Image for Hilary .
2,294 reviews491 followers
August 30, 2015
My favourite Gibbons so far. I loved the unlikely friendship at the guesthouse and really wanted things to work out well for Queenie. Having read some of Stella Gibbons biography I gather Queenie's experience of this relationship was based on her own.
Profile Image for Jose Garcia.
12 reviews1 follower
August 22, 2017
Mi segunda incursión en el universo de S. Gibbons tras su celebrada Cold Comfort Farm. Una historia anclada en el mundo rural inglés que sirve como homenaje a las tramas de Jane Austen, con un estilo humorístico similar. Perfectamente, Queenie podría ir de criada a Mansfield Park una temporada. Como en Cold Comfort Farm, la crítica al mundo literario romático-rural es disparatada. Es incluso más explítica al colocar a un escritor totalmente lamentable. Nota: tengo que investigar en quién se inspiró para la creación de dicho personaje. No alcanza las cotas de genialidad de su más celebrada obra . Su estilo irónico hará pasar un buen rato por el recóndito pueblo de Bassett. Lo malo es que me quedé con ganas de conocer más acerca del porvenir de la señorita Baker.
Profile Image for Jane.
2,682 reviews66 followers
January 25, 2013
What a pleasure it is when a really good writer whose works have been largely out of print has a publishing renaissance.
Such is the case with Stella Gibbons. Cold Comfort Farm is what everyone knows her for, but she wrote close to 50 other novels,
and if Bassett is anything to go by, they're worth reprinting.
Profile Image for Lesley.
Author 16 books34 followers
January 4, 2015
Three and a half, really. Full of nice Gibbonesque insights, but composed of two strands which don't particularly mesh, except as involving two individuals who arrive in the village of Bassett. So, worth reading but not one of the top non-Cold Comfort Farm books in my opinion.
Profile Image for José Aldariz.
26 reviews3 followers
August 29, 2022
Maravillosamente divertida. Lástima que al final se centrase más en la historia de amor que en la señorita Baker y la señorita Padsoe, que son los grandes personajes de la novela. Aunque el final que les dedica, claro, es estupendo.
Profile Image for Dave Morris.
Author 212 books156 followers
December 31, 2021
You start off thinking it's the perfect raw material for a heartwarming BBC Sunday evening drama. The blurb and the cover image both reinforce that impression, sort of a greatly superior example of the same genre as Thirkell's High Rising, but it soon takes a swerve into another story that grows to become the main narrative. The genius of this is that the first narrative thread is interesting in its details but by the halfway point is not likely to deliver any surprises. A lesser writer would still have subjected us to a gruelling Darling Buds of May plot chugging its whimsical way to an inevitable conclusion. Gibbons is much better than that, so she leaves the first storyline to coast along while sharpening the other -- which by the way features two of the most human monsters in fiction. As it's early Gibbons, she doesn't overdo the sentimentality or religious battiness. The BBC really ought to dramatize it, in fact, with Olivia Colman or Nicola Walker in the Miss Baker part.
Profile Image for Carlos.
148 reviews6 followers
April 1, 2020
Una de esas historias en la que realmente no pasa gran cosa, pero la calidad de la narración te termina atrapando y enganchando.
A parte de estar preciosamente bien escrito y de ser capaz de transportarte a esa Inglaterra más rural y campestre; también quiero resaltar la plenitud de los personajes, personajes bien construidos que van evolucionando a lo largo de las páginas.
Lo que más me gustó fue la descripción de los lugares, especialmente las diferencias entre el primer trabajo que tenía Miss Baker en el taller de costura y luego cuando ya está instalada en Bassett. También me encantó el papel de Bell, pero no puedo decir mucho sobre ella porque no quiero arruinarle el libro a otros potenciales lectores; pero sí Bell es como un personaje que te genera varios sentimientos, es compleja en su forma de entender la vida y las relaciones, en otras palabras, es un personaje muy “real”.
Lo que no me gusto fue el final, yo no quería un final así, pero bueno…
En definitiva, un gran libro y muy recomendable para empezar a leer a esta autora.
Profile Image for Louise Culmer.
1,206 reviews50 followers
July 16, 2013
This books consists of two intertwined stories which really have very little to do with each other. One is delightful, about a tough, strong minded single lady from London, and a dithery, gentle single lady who lives in genteel poverty in the country, who join forces to open a guest house. The other story, by contrast, is very dull, a love affair between two not very interesting young people, which failed to engage me at all, especially irritating is the young man, who is nervous, neurotic and rather effeminate, the girl's passion for him is quite baffling. i read through the parts about the tiresome love affair impatiently, anxious to get back to Miss Baker and Miss Pardoe.

had this story just been about Miss Baker and Miss Pardoe, I would have given it four stars. had it just been about the tiresome lovers, I would have given it two. As it is, it rates a three.
125 reviews
April 10, 2015
This story builds quickly, effortlessly, with skill, verve and humour and relates on one hand, the story of the partnership of two socially opposite women who unite to run a guest house in the village of Bassett - one lady inherited the grand house while the socially inferior Cockney girl has the cash and in parallel the story/moral tale of the love affair of a couple who are irrevocably, socially opposite.

The two ladies business venture theme subtley and gently centres on the essence of what friendship is and can be, while the love affair deals with the perils of virtue, reason and sense lost through a woman's blindness of the power of love to one could say the 'caddishnes' of the wealthy, good-looking bon viveur man but who actually through reasons not stated is more ignorant of morality in a way than caddish.

It's a great book!
Profile Image for Ms Jayne.
281 reviews4 followers
July 17, 2021
Promising set up with the two women running the guesthouse but I would have liked more of the plot to revolve around them. I found the romantic plot of George and Queenie very convincing and the characters of Bell and Albert very realistic too. George and Bell were so destructive and callous in their selfishness and I would have liked to see their complacency shattered. However sometimes this is the way with Gibbons, there is no punishment or comeuppance but instead the nicer characters develop and grow while the others are trapped by their inability to really love anyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Nimbex.
455 reviews5 followers
April 8, 2015
Bassett es casi dos libros en uno: por un lado están las señoritas Baker y Padsoe, por otro los Shelling con la señorita Catton; podría decirse que el primero es una comedia y el segundo un drama. Me ha gustado más todo lo concerniente a las señoritas Baker y Padsoe, los Shelling no me han caído nada bien aunque su historia sea la que tenga más profundidad y no esté nada mal.
Profile Image for Lynaia.
27 reviews2 followers
May 9, 2021
I would actually rate this more 3.5-3.75. The description is somewhat misleading. Most of the story ends up revolving around the younger neighbors vs the ladies at The Tower. I would have liked their story to have been expanded on more. However, it was still quite enjoyable. Just not what I expected.
1,171 reviews15 followers
August 30, 2021
There seem to be two books here, the distressed older ladies book and the bright young things book. I found the former enjoyable and the latter a little laboured and dull. It’s certainly a period piece and fascinating for that. Entertaining, but promised more than it ultimately delivered.
Profile Image for Sonia.
770 reviews179 followers
February 24, 2020
Otra de mis novelas preferidas de Stella Gibbons, que en este caso logra escribir una novela costumbrista rural prácticamente perfecta.
Parecía que estaba en ese pueblecito. La disfruté enormemente
Profile Image for Feli_H.
77 reviews7 followers
November 1, 2024
Sean todos bienvenidos a una nueva entrada del Premio Historias Confortables. Antes de revelar al nominado de esta entrega, iniciaré comentándoles sobre el significado y origen del Premio que nos convoca.

Hay narraciones que se caracterizan por hacernos pasar un rato plácido durante su lectura. Sus ritmos sosegados, junto a esas sorpresas creadas que le hacen a uno pasar las páginas con avidez y encanto, logran gustar debido al efecto tan cómodo que poseen. Pueden ayudar a brindar tranquilidad en momentos de estrés, o simplemente ser una compañía en momentos en que más se necesita; ambas a la vez también. Esas historias que poseen ritmos pausados -no necesariamente lentas al mostrar acontecimientos-, poseen un humor continuo, y que muestran principalmente los claros más que los oscuros de las situaciones; son las que llamamos: Historias Confortables.

El libro nominado para participar del premio en esta ocasión es Bassett, escrito por Stella Gibbons en 1933. ¿Se ganará las medallas principales que le harán ser merecedora de ganar esta premiación? Averigüémoslo:

Medalla por el acercamiento realista a la vida de los protagonistas 🏅

Esta historia se divide en dos interrelacionadas secciones principales: En la primera seguimos a una mujer de mediana edad, apodada señorita Baker, cuyo interés mínimo en un inicio de aumentar sus ingresos al ser socia de la señorita Padsoe, una sexagenaria dueña adinerada de una casa en la cima de una colina, se convierte en necesidad en el momento en que la despiden de su trabajo. En la segunda, acompañamos a la señorita Catton, una joven que al igual que la señorita Baker acaba de llegar a Bassett, aunque en el caso suyo para trabajar como dama de compañía de una señorita. Su patrona no vive sola, tiene dos hijos cercanos a la edad de nuestra protagonista, los cuales debido a lo curiosa que les parece se acercarán a ella. Bell como una amiga difícil de descifrar, y George como algo más que un amigo.

Una de las ventajas que brinda el estilo más calmado a la hora de narrar es la posibilidad de conocer mucho más a quienes protagonizan la historia. La autora se esmera en contarnos sobre lo que viven cada uno de sus personajes, de las más diversas y fluidas maneras que se le ocurren. Usa el contraste con la ambientación para mostrar con mayor claridad la psiquis de sus protagonistas; lo que piensan y dicen se le da suma importancia, lo cual está muy bien para que cada uno tenga una voz propia, dándonos así momentos tanto cruciales como humorísticos.

Medalla por el humor variado 🏅

Su forma de hacer reír está pensada con antelación, y se nota. El humor negro que construye en situaciones que se utilizan para acrecentarlo y dirigirlo hacia algo más que un simple momento para lanzar palabrotas, le resultó muy bien. No solo usa ese tipo de humor para hacer sonreír, sino que también hila diálogos tan naturales, que hacen que no baste nada más ornamentado para cumplir su objetivo.

Otro de los encantos de su estilo literario fue su uso característico del paréntesis. Sus paréntesis servían en muchas oportunidades para mostrar tanto pensamientos internos como para decir rápidamente unas cuántas palabras entre diálogos. No hay ningún problema con añadir nuevas significancias a los elementos literarios, siempre que haya claridad y no doble interpretación, y en este caso se entendió muy bien.

Medalla por su sabio enfoque, que abarca todo tipo de relaciones 🏅

Las dos secciones principales, aunque poseen elementos muy distintos, comparten la forma en que se habla de manera directa e indirecta sobre el ciclo eterno de evolución-mantención de las relaciones humanas. Cuando la señorita Baker llega a Bassett, no llega de buena gana, acaba de perder la vida que había tenido durante 20 años como costurera. La relación con su amiga de años del trabajo, por ende, también cambiará, y será mostrado tanto al principio como al final de la novela. Como jurado nos hubiese gustado que se hubiese ahondado más en lo que significó la lejanía de la primera, más escenas al final hubiesen suplido ese desbalance de contenido.

A esta sección se le brinda un poco menos de atención que a la sección principalmente romántica de la señorita Catton, mas dándole la misma importancia a la hora de mostrar esas relaciones en detalle. Las escenas en la que se hace hincapié en la relación de la señorita Baker consigo misma, y luego como va creando a través del paso de los días un vínculo amistoso fuerte con la señorita Padsoe, le quedaron magníficamente plasmadas.

La trama romántica tampoco se queda atrás, enfocándose en los aspectos románticos de pareja y tocando temas como el enamoramiento, la responsabilidad, y últimamente la madurez, se nos permite entrar en estas vidas cotidianas llenas de una profundidad psicológica muy agradable de leer. Se entiende bien la razón de que la autora haya ocupado más páginas en esta sección, aunque con el jurado no pudimos dejar de sentirnos un tanto tristes por no haber presenciado más anécdotas de la pareja de la primera sección.

Con todo esto dicho, queremos decir de parte de todo el jurado:
¡Felicitaciones por haber ganado las tres medallas ejemplares dignas de una buena lectura confortable por tu libro Bassett, Stella Gibbons! Esperamos puedas participar de otra entrada del Premio Historias Confortables en otra oportunidad.

Gracias al público también por su sintonización. Pronto anunciaremos una nueva fecha en la que se realizará la siguiente entrada. ¡Hasta la próxima!
Profile Image for James.
129 reviews
October 14, 2024
A rather strange book, but one I enjoyed a lot. I’m quite fascinated that it almost diverts into a different story midway through; at least character-wise.
I feel a bit odd after finishing it. Almost like Stella Gibbons was playing a trick on me.
Profile Image for Christie Mallowan.
31 reviews2 followers
May 11, 2023
En lo tocante a las señoritas Padsoe y Baker y su casa de huéspedes, todo perfecto. Lástima que Stella Gibbons lo estropease con la historia cínico-romántica de los vecinos.
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