To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of `Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War’ we have put all four novels about Mrs Caldicot into a single volume.
The omnibus edition of Mrs Caldicot novels is called `Mrs Caldicot – Omnibus Edition’ (we spent a lot of time devising that title) and it contains the uncut, unexpurgated, un-bowdlerised versions of all four books: Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War, Mrs Caldicot’s Knickerbocker Glory, Mrs Caldicot’s Oyster Parade and Mrs Caldicot’s Turkish Delight.
Mrs Caldicot – Omnibus Edition is available as a paperback and in a hardcover edition and you can buy a copy from Amazon. It’ll make a superb gift.
To purchase a copy CLICK HERE or go to Amazon.
All four books are also available individually, both as paperbacks and as eBooks.
After I exposed the covid fraud in March 2020, Wikipedia completely removed the page for the four books about Mrs Caldicot (in a successful attempt to remove their existence from the internet) and so here, just for balance, here is a tiny selection of the reviews of Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War (and the film that was based on it):
`It's poignant, funny and `socially relevant'.' - Daily Telegraph
`...funny and poignant film about a woman pushed into a home who decides to fight back, transforming the lives of those around her.' - The Times
`Its mouse-that-roared scenario is always charming and entertaining. It also takes quite some talent to bring the character and story so close to a dark abyss - and keep the audience smiling.' - Empire (`UK's No 1 Movie Magazine')
`...destined to be regarded as a typically understated British classic.' - Express & Echo
`An endearing fairytale quality...There are some serious points about society's ill treatment of the elderly, but they come neatly packaged in the kind of gentle comedy that should please devotees of Last of the Summer Wine.' - Daily Express
`It's a gentle sub-Ealing comedy starring Pauline Collins as a feisty inmate of an old people's home leading a revolution against the unfeeling powers-that-be. Collins shows her usual warmth, and people over 60 may be uplifted by the theme of grey power.' - Daily Mail
`Pauline Collins leads a revolt by the residents of an old people’s' home in this amusing tale, almost a throwback to the Ealing comedies.' You can't help but root for her as she gets her own back on the nasty home manager, played by her real life hubby John Alderton.' - Daily Star
`Pauline Collins as a widow puts up a feisty struggle to retain her independence when parked by her son in a twilight rest home. Humour, pathos and sympathy as she opposes John Alderton and all the rules making life miserable for senior citizens.' - Alexander Walker, Evening Standard
`Feelings of solidarity aren't hard to summon for Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War, a little British film about a woman unjustly imprisoned in a penny-pinching retirement home.' - Metro London
Vernon's Laughter Prescription Goes Down Well. `Multi-million selling author Vernon Coleman is behind a big new film comedy. The story, published by Great Fiction in its paperback novel form, has been lauded as a comedy with an important social message.' - Huddersfield Daily Examiner
`...a film you can't help liking...' - TV Times
`...cranky but spunky crusties in a One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest revolt against the tyranny of boiled cabbage.' - Evening Standard
`Cabbage flick leafs competition standing.' - Plymouth Extra
`...a little British comedy with a big heart.' - Financial Times
`After 30 years of thankless marriage to a sewage engineer, Pauline Collins is shipped into a nursing home by her obnoxious son and his greedy wife. Tired of eating boiled cabbage and sedatives, she decamps with a squad of half-dead incumbents and ends up on national TV. Viewers will applaud the sentiment...' - The Times
`The potential for a provocative hilarious look at old age and its attendant problems are all here in the script...' - What's on in London
`Doctor in the picture house.' - Sheffield Star
`Doctor's orders for film - Coleman highlights battling pensioners.' - Birmingham Evening Mail
`A genteel comedy with a subtle social message. Superb cast of seasoned professionals. An amazing job considering it probably cost 1/20th of most Hollywood product.' - The Guardian Unlimited
`The film has already been hailed a winner at the Chichester and Cannes film festivals, and is showing in many parts of the UK, as well as being on a six month tenure in the picture houses of New Zealand where it has broken box office records. Is there some `oldie' cult there that we don't know about? Or have they just got good taste?' - Western Morning News
`Adapted from the novel by Vernon Coleman this is the warm and often funny story of an ordinary woman who finally decides to stand up for herself, having been pushed around by others for most of her life.' - Surrey Mirror
`Cosy, fairytale comedy.' - Daily Express
`Vernon Coleman has an impressive list of novels to his credit and this one, first published in 1993, has provided the basis for a newly released film with the same title, starring Pauline Collins as Mrs Caldicot. Humorous, and often touching, this is an entertaining tale with a delightful comeuppance ending.' - Leicester Mercury
`...a sort of bastard son of Fawlty Towers.' - Mail on Sunday
`On the one hand it's a fairly serious issue film highlighting the plight of pensioners packed off to sub-standard care homes, given dreadful food, nothing to do, and a constant supply of tranquillisers to keep them quiet. On the other it's a jaunty suburban comedy...' - Sunday Telegraph
`Absolutely FAB film. A must see. It had me smiling from beginning to end and has an all star cast (you will be wondering where you've seen them before). Pauline Collins is terrific. A heartwarming film.' - The Guardian Unlimited
`Vernon Coleman wrote the novel from which this is adapted. And his fans won't be surprised to find that even in fiction he likes to get stuck into a good campaign.' - The People
`With a new film comedy starring Pauline Collins and based on the novel just released why not catch up on this heart-warming story in print? It's the tale of an old woman whose husband dies and is forced by her relatives to go into a residential home, where she leads a rebellion. It's funny, sad and exposes important social issues about growing old.' - Belfast Telegraph
`...a coup in a twilight home in this panto-style British comedy.' - The Guardian
`...conflation of One Foot in the Grave and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.' - The Times
`This magnificently heartwarming film once again highlights the immense talent that abounds in our leafy suburbs. Pauline Collins gave an utterly captivating performance as a downtrodden housewife suddenly widowed and cast into a `care' home for the elderly. On befriending the other residents she finds an inner strength and passion to stand up to the home's heartless regime...and its `big' bosses, thus discovering herself and her potential. I swung from laughter to tears and back to laughter, and left warmed, content and inspired as I made my way home...' - Lady Lucy French, Hampstead and Highgate Express
`This story, recently made into a film, is about an old woman whose husband dies and who is forced by her relatives to go into a residential home, where she leads a rebellion...Coleman can still raise a chuckle.' - Oxford Times
`Sounding like something written by Beatrix Potter, Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War is actually a comedy drama.' - Loughborough Echo
`...a tale of downtrodden woman finally standing up for herself. Adapted from the novel by Vernon Coleman, Pauline Collins stars as Thelma Caldicot, a naturally intelligent woman who has endured 30 years of a dull and oppressive marriage.' - West Sussex County Times
`Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War, the preview film that overwhelmingly won the Audience Award for the Best Film at the 11th Chichester Film Festival last year is now on general release. Catch up with Pauline Collins's exceptional performance in this forthright comedy...' - Chichester Observer
`It is refreshing to see a film that tackles the problems and issues surrounding elderly care tackled in such a dignified and entertaining way.' - Help the Aged
`This is the first Vernon Coleman book to get the movie treatment. It is the latest step in the remarkable career of a man who has brought unconventional medical wisdom to millions of readers.' - Express and Star
`Screenwriter Malcolm Stone's adaption of Vernon Coleman's novel is commendable in its desire to remind us that being old doesn't equate with being dead. Highlighting the appalling conditions that exist in some UK rest homes, its `message' is an important one.' - BBC
`Really enjoyable British comedy in which the excellent, feisty Pauline Collins battles with heartless developers and leads a revolt in the old folks home. There were tears, then cheers from the audience the night I saw it when Mrs C finally - ah, but I mustn't give away any of its neat twists. Accomplished performances from a gifted cast of top actors. Peter Capaldi excellent as the shifty son and Martin Jarvis satisfyingly villainous as the devious property owner who'd like to see lovable Miss Collins and her fellow residents on the streets. If this were a Danish or French film I suspect it might now be hailed in the press as a small masterpiece. As it is, director Ian Sharp must be content with appreciation and applause from film-going audiences who recognise a genuinely heartfelt human comedy when they see it.' - The Guardian Unlimited
`Funny and thought provoking novel. It proves to be an entertaining read, focusing with a liberal dollop of humour on the plight of the elderly who find themselves in care homes they would rather not be in, but feel they have no one to fight their cause - certainly not the relatives who have dumped them there.' - Western Morning News
`Now an award winning film starring Pauline Collins, this is a poignant, warm and often funny story of an ordinary woman who, after being pushed around by others for most of her life, finally decides to stand up for herself. Thelma has endured 30 years of a meaningless marriage and when her husband dies, she is pushed into a care home. It is there that she acquires a band of strange new friends - fellow `in mates' who look to her for help and assistance. These new responsibilities give her life a new purpose and meaning, at long last.' - Western Mail Magazine
`Poignant and beautifully written. A tearful journey into pensionable age with a glimmer of hope in the laughter. - ' Western Mail
`...a good fun read as well as pinpointing an important social message for our time. Vernon Coleman is a multi-million selling author, a former family doctor and television presenter whose 90 books have been translated into 22 langauges and sold all over the world....(Mrs Caldicot's) cabbage war story is told with laughter, a few tears and a strong eye on special conditions which need fighting.' - Jim Howie, The Chester Chronicle
`Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War...made me laugh out loud. Dr Coleman's lightness of touch and direct prose are all that one could wish for.' - Maxwell Craven, Derby Evening Telegraph
`A list of almost 100 titles acquaints us with Vernon Coleman's literary outpourings, a spectrum of subjects too vast for selective mention. Many readers already acquainted with this versatile author will know that newcomers are in for an entertaining read, an easy style underpinning a firm social structure...Vernon Coleman's observations cannot fail to hit home. The catalogue of his previous writings with their very frank titles bear witness to his knowledge of the human condition in all its frailties and strengths. But then he is a qualified family doctor.' - Joan Cory, North Devon Journal
'Vernon Coleman really captures the personality of Mrs Caldicot...You'll be hooked and won't be able to put it down. Vernon Coleman has written 90 books which have been successful across the globe and this book can only add to those sales. It is heart-warming and funny all at once.' - Dawn Ellis, Newton Abbot & Mid Devon Advertiser
Having worked pretty well solidly for many years now we have decided to take a small break over Christmas, and so there won’t be any new articles on www.vernoncoleman.com for three weeks after Friday 15th December 2023. We hope to start putting up fresh articles on Monday the 8th January 2024. The keenest of keen readers will find a wide variety of books available via the bookshop on www.vernoncoleman.com and these will be available for sale throughout the holidays.
We’d both like to take the opportunity to thank all our readers for their support, and a special big thanks to those who have bought books and/or written lovely reviews. You have (literally) helped keep us alive.
We hope you all have a peaceful and healthy holiday period over Christmas and that your holiday is either restful or exhausting according to your wishes.
Now Available – Mrs Caldicot Omnibus Edition
Dr Vernon Coleman
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of `Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War’ we have put all four novels about Mrs Caldicot into a single volume.
The omnibus edition of Mrs Caldicot novels is called `Mrs Caldicot – Omnibus Edition’ (we spent a lot of time devising that title) and it contains the uncut, unexpurgated, un-bowdlerised versions of all four books: Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War, Mrs Caldicot’s Knickerbocker Glory, Mrs Caldicot’s Oyster Parade and Mrs Caldicot’s Turkish Delight.
Mrs Caldicot – Omnibus Edition is available as a paperback and in a hardcover edition and you can buy a copy from Amazon. It’ll make a superb gift.
To purchase a copy CLICK HERE or go to Amazon.
All four books are also available individually, both as paperbacks and as eBooks.
After I exposed the covid fraud in March 2020, Wikipedia completely removed the page for the four books about Mrs Caldicot (in a successful attempt to remove their existence from the internet) and so here, just for balance, here is a tiny selection of the reviews of Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War (and the film that was based on it):
`It's poignant, funny and `socially relevant'.' - Daily Telegraph
`...funny and poignant film about a woman pushed into a home who decides to fight back, transforming the lives of those around her.' - The Times
`Its mouse-that-roared scenario is always charming and entertaining. It also takes quite some talent to bring the character and story so close to a dark abyss - and keep the audience smiling.' - Empire (`UK's No 1 Movie Magazine')
`...destined to be regarded as a typically understated British classic.' - Express & Echo
`An endearing fairytale quality...There are some serious points about society's ill treatment of the elderly, but they come neatly packaged in the kind of gentle comedy that should please devotees of Last of the Summer Wine.' - Daily Express
`It's a gentle sub-Ealing comedy starring Pauline Collins as a feisty inmate of an old people's home leading a revolution against the unfeeling powers-that-be. Collins shows her usual warmth, and people over 60 may be uplifted by the theme of grey power.' - Daily Mail
`Pauline Collins leads a revolt by the residents of an old people’s' home in this amusing tale, almost a throwback to the Ealing comedies.' You can't help but root for her as she gets her own back on the nasty home manager, played by her real life hubby John Alderton.' - Daily Star
`Pauline Collins as a widow puts up a feisty struggle to retain her independence when parked by her son in a twilight rest home. Humour, pathos and sympathy as she opposes John Alderton and all the rules making life miserable for senior citizens.' - Alexander Walker, Evening Standard
`Feelings of solidarity aren't hard to summon for Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War, a little British film about a woman unjustly imprisoned in a penny-pinching retirement home.' - Metro London
Vernon's Laughter Prescription Goes Down Well. `Multi-million selling author Vernon Coleman is behind a big new film comedy. The story, published by Great Fiction in its paperback novel form, has been lauded as a comedy with an important social message.' - Huddersfield Daily Examiner
`...a film you can't help liking...' - TV Times
`...cranky but spunky crusties in a One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest revolt against the tyranny of boiled cabbage.' - Evening Standard
`Cabbage flick leafs competition standing.' - Plymouth Extra
`...a little British comedy with a big heart.' - Financial Times
`After 30 years of thankless marriage to a sewage engineer, Pauline Collins is shipped into a nursing home by her obnoxious son and his greedy wife. Tired of eating boiled cabbage and sedatives, she decamps with a squad of half-dead incumbents and ends up on national TV. Viewers will applaud the sentiment...' - The Times
`The potential for a provocative hilarious look at old age and its attendant problems are all here in the script...' - What's on in London
`Doctor in the picture house.' - Sheffield Star
`Doctor's orders for film - Coleman highlights battling pensioners.' - Birmingham Evening Mail
`A genteel comedy with a subtle social message. Superb cast of seasoned professionals. An amazing job considering it probably cost 1/20th of most Hollywood product.' - The Guardian Unlimited
`The film has already been hailed a winner at the Chichester and Cannes film festivals, and is showing in many parts of the UK, as well as being on a six month tenure in the picture houses of New Zealand where it has broken box office records. Is there some `oldie' cult there that we don't know about? Or have they just got good taste?' - Western Morning News
`Adapted from the novel by Vernon Coleman this is the warm and often funny story of an ordinary woman who finally decides to stand up for herself, having been pushed around by others for most of her life.' - Surrey Mirror
`Cosy, fairytale comedy.' - Daily Express
`Vernon Coleman has an impressive list of novels to his credit and this one, first published in 1993, has provided the basis for a newly released film with the same title, starring Pauline Collins as Mrs Caldicot. Humorous, and often touching, this is an entertaining tale with a delightful comeuppance ending.' - Leicester Mercury
`...a sort of bastard son of Fawlty Towers.' - Mail on Sunday
`On the one hand it's a fairly serious issue film highlighting the plight of pensioners packed off to sub-standard care homes, given dreadful food, nothing to do, and a constant supply of tranquillisers to keep them quiet. On the other it's a jaunty suburban comedy...' - Sunday Telegraph
`Absolutely FAB film. A must see. It had me smiling from beginning to end and has an all star cast (you will be wondering where you've seen them before). Pauline Collins is terrific. A heartwarming film.' - The Guardian Unlimited
`Vernon Coleman wrote the novel from which this is adapted. And his fans won't be surprised to find that even in fiction he likes to get stuck into a good campaign.' - The People
`With a new film comedy starring Pauline Collins and based on the novel just released why not catch up on this heart-warming story in print? It's the tale of an old woman whose husband dies and is forced by her relatives to go into a residential home, where she leads a rebellion. It's funny, sad and exposes important social issues about growing old.' - Belfast Telegraph
`...a coup in a twilight home in this panto-style British comedy.' - The Guardian
`...conflation of One Foot in the Grave and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.' - The Times
`This magnificently heartwarming film once again highlights the immense talent that abounds in our leafy suburbs. Pauline Collins gave an utterly captivating performance as a downtrodden housewife suddenly widowed and cast into a `care' home for the elderly. On befriending the other residents she finds an inner strength and passion to stand up to the home's heartless regime...and its `big' bosses, thus discovering herself and her potential. I swung from laughter to tears and back to laughter, and left warmed, content and inspired as I made my way home...' - Lady Lucy French, Hampstead and Highgate Express
`This story, recently made into a film, is about an old woman whose husband dies and who is forced by her relatives to go into a residential home, where she leads a rebellion...Coleman can still raise a chuckle.' - Oxford Times
`Sounding like something written by Beatrix Potter, Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War is actually a comedy drama.' - Loughborough Echo
`...a tale of downtrodden woman finally standing up for herself. Adapted from the novel by Vernon Coleman, Pauline Collins stars as Thelma Caldicot, a naturally intelligent woman who has endured 30 years of a dull and oppressive marriage.' - West Sussex County Times
`Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War, the preview film that overwhelmingly won the Audience Award for the Best Film at the 11th Chichester Film Festival last year is now on general release. Catch up with Pauline Collins's exceptional performance in this forthright comedy...' - Chichester Observer
`It is refreshing to see a film that tackles the problems and issues surrounding elderly care tackled in such a dignified and entertaining way.' - Help the Aged
`This is the first Vernon Coleman book to get the movie treatment. It is the latest step in the remarkable career of a man who has brought unconventional medical wisdom to millions of readers.' - Express and Star
`Screenwriter Malcolm Stone's adaption of Vernon Coleman's novel is commendable in its desire to remind us that being old doesn't equate with being dead. Highlighting the appalling conditions that exist in some UK rest homes, its `message' is an important one.' - BBC
`Really enjoyable British comedy in which the excellent, feisty Pauline Collins battles with heartless developers and leads a revolt in the old folks home. There were tears, then cheers from the audience the night I saw it when Mrs C finally - ah, but I mustn't give away any of its neat twists. Accomplished performances from a gifted cast of top actors. Peter Capaldi excellent as the shifty son and Martin Jarvis satisfyingly villainous as the devious property owner who'd like to see lovable Miss Collins and her fellow residents on the streets. If this were a Danish or French film I suspect it might now be hailed in the press as a small masterpiece. As it is, director Ian Sharp must be content with appreciation and applause from film-going audiences who recognise a genuinely heartfelt human comedy when they see it.' - The Guardian Unlimited
`Funny and thought provoking novel. It proves to be an entertaining read, focusing with a liberal dollop of humour on the plight of the elderly who find themselves in care homes they would rather not be in, but feel they have no one to fight their cause - certainly not the relatives who have dumped them there.' - Western Morning News
`Now an award winning film starring Pauline Collins, this is a poignant, warm and often funny story of an ordinary woman who, after being pushed around by others for most of her life, finally decides to stand up for herself. Thelma has endured 30 years of a meaningless marriage and when her husband dies, she is pushed into a care home. It is there that she acquires a band of strange new friends - fellow `in mates' who look to her for help and assistance. These new responsibilities give her life a new purpose and meaning, at long last.' - Western Mail Magazine
`Poignant and beautifully written. A tearful journey into pensionable age with a glimmer of hope in the laughter. - ' Western Mail
`...a good fun read as well as pinpointing an important social message for our time. Vernon Coleman is a multi-million selling author, a former family doctor and television presenter whose 90 books have been translated into 22 langauges and sold all over the world....(Mrs Caldicot's) cabbage war story is told with laughter, a few tears and a strong eye on special conditions which need fighting.' - Jim Howie, The Chester Chronicle
`Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War...made me laugh out loud. Dr Coleman's lightness of touch and direct prose are all that one could wish for.' - Maxwell Craven, Derby Evening Telegraph
`A list of almost 100 titles acquaints us with Vernon Coleman's literary outpourings, a spectrum of subjects too vast for selective mention. Many readers already acquainted with this versatile author will know that newcomers are in for an entertaining read, an easy style underpinning a firm social structure...Vernon Coleman's observations cannot fail to hit home. The catalogue of his previous writings with their very frank titles bear witness to his knowledge of the human condition in all its frailties and strengths. But then he is a qualified family doctor.' - Joan Cory, North Devon Journal
'Vernon Coleman really captures the personality of Mrs Caldicot...You'll be hooked and won't be able to put it down. Vernon Coleman has written 90 books which have been successful across the globe and this book can only add to those sales. It is heart-warming and funny all at once.' - Dawn Ellis, Newton Abbot & Mid Devon Advertiser
Our Christmas Break
Dr Vernon Coleman
Having worked pretty well solidly for many years now we have decided to take a small break over Christmas, and so there won’t be any new articles on www.vernoncoleman.com for three weeks after Friday 15th December 2023. We hope to start putting up fresh articles on Monday the 8th January 2024. The keenest of keen readers will find a wide variety of books available via the bookshop on www.vernoncoleman.com and these will be available for sale throughout the holidays.
We’d both like to take the opportunity to thank all our readers for their support, and a special big thanks to those who have bought books and/or written lovely reviews. You have (literally) helped keep us alive.
We hope you all have a peaceful and healthy holiday period over Christmas and that your holiday is either restful or exhausting according to your wishes.
Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year to you all.
Vernon and Antoinette Coleman
Have a wonderful holiday thank you
Thank you, Ray, and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thank you Edwin and Dr. Coleman. Merry Christmas and happy healthy New Year to all 💜🤗🎄🙏
Thanks for the books and articles so far, and I wish Vernon and Antoinette Coleman a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!