Lolly Willowes Or, The Loving Huntsman

A satirical feminist classic about a woman who leaves her stifling place in her brother’s London home for the wilds of the English countryside, where she meets and makes a deal with the devil himself.

Laura “Lolly” Willowes is an unmarried, middle-aged woman in early twentieth century London–a spinster who for the past twenty years has lived with, and in service of, her brother’s overbearing family. With her brother’s children now grown and out of the house, Lolly shocks her family by making a choice for herself: to move, alone, to the country.

Once she arrives, Lolly carves out a life for herself in this lush and wild land, finding independence and a peace that she has never before experienced. Unfortunately, the family can’t quite let go of Lolly, and her nephew shows up unannounced to move in to her country home. So long ruled by her family’s expectations, Lolly makes a rash decision to solve her problems. With a subversive wit, Sylvia Townsend Warner’s feminist classic poses the question—what would a woman do to ensure her freedom?

The Modern Library Torchbearers series features women who wrote on their own terms, with boldness, creativity, and a spirit of resistance.

Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893-1978) was an English writer of novels, poetry, and short stories. She was born to a distinguished history teacher at the Harrow School, and grew up in the world of academics. At an early age Warner showed an interest in musicology, and before beginning her writing career she was a researcher of fifteenth- and sixteenth century music.  Warner wrote seven novels, eight poetry collections, and sixteen short story collections, and contributed short stories to The New Yorker for over forty years.