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Lolly Willowes

by Sylvia Townsend Warner

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Under 100
First published
1926
Pages
120
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Listen to Lolly Willowes Audiobook Free

Read by Shannon Sullivan · 4 h 46 min · 10 parts

  1. Part 1

    29:41

  2. Part 1, cont.

    28:08

  3. Part 1, cont.

    26:27

  4. Part 2

    36:41

  5. Part 2, cont.

    23:51

  6. Part 2, cont.

    29:23

  7. Part 3

    30:46

  8. Part 3, cont.

    27:06

  9. Part 3, cont.

    29:08

  10. Part 3, cont.

    25:19

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About this book

For most of her life, Laura Willowes has been "Aunt Lolly," the unmarried woman passed among relatives who treat her time as their own. Then, in her late forties, she does something unaccountable: she moves alone to a quiet village in the Chilterns, where she discovers she can finally belong to herself, even if that means striking a bargain with the Devil. Sylvia Townsend Warner's 1926 debut turns a comedy of English family life into a sly parable of a woman claiming her freedom, and its vision of witchcraft as escape rather than menace has kept it alive for readers who prize its wit and quiet rebellion.

From the opening pages

When her father died, Laura Willowes went to live in London with her elder brother and his family.

“Of course,” said Caroline, “you will come to us.”

“But it will upset all your plans. It will give you so much trouble. Are you sure you really want me?”

Caroline spoke affectionately, but her thoughts were elsewhere. They had already journeyed back to London to buy an eiderdown for the bed in the small spare-room. If the washstand were moved towards the door, would it be possible to fit in a writing-table between it and the fireplace? Perhaps a bureau would be better, because of the extra drawers? Yes, that was it. Lolly could bring the little walnut bureau with the false handles on one side and the top that jumped up when you touched the spring by the inkwell. It had belonged to Lolly’s mother, and Lolly had always used it, so Sibyl could not raise any objections. Sibyl had no claim to it whatever, really. She had only been married to James for two years, and if the bureau had marked the morning-room wallpaper, she could easily put something else in its place. A stand with ferns and potted plants would look very nice.

Lolly was a gentle creature, and the little girls loved her; she would soon fit into her new home. The small spare-room would be rather a loss. They could not give up the large spare-room to Lolly, and the small spare-room was the handiest of the two for ordinary visitors. It seemed extravagant to wash a pair of the large linen sheets for a single guest who came but for a couple of nights. Still, there it was, and Henry was right—Lolly ought to come to them. London would be a pleasant change for her. She would meet nice people, and in London she would have a better chance of marrying. Lolly was twenty-eight. She would have to make haste if she were going to find a husband before she was thirty. Poor Lolly! black was not becoming to her. She looked sallow, and her pale grey eyes were paler and more surprising than ever underneath that very unbecoming black mushroom hat. Mourning was never satisfactory if one bought it in a country town.

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About the author

Sylvia Townsend Warner - BDeBooks
Sylvia Townsend Warner

Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893-1978) was an English novelist, poet, and trained musicologist whose fiction blends sharp social comedy with the fantastic. A committed communist who lived openly with the poet Valentine Ackland, she wrote Lolly Willowes, Mr Fortune's Maggot, and The Corner That Held Them.

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Book facts

First published
1926
Reading time
About 4 hours
Pages
120
Language
English
Formats
PDF, EPUB, Read online, Audiobook
Audio read by
Shannon Sullivan