I began reading "Rural Lives " by Harriet Baker last night, which features Sylvia Townsend Warner (she was my reason for buying it )- so this is a lovely coincidence! She is such a remarkable writer and happily I still have several of her books to read. I loved this quote, “One does not admire things enough: and worst of all one allows whole days to slip by without once pausing to see an object, any object, exactly as it is, ” - certainly one to keep! Thank you too for the Times paywall offer as I love their rereadings column and often miss it!
Thanks Deborah! I think Harriet Baker captures STW in the 1930s very well. I decided to stop in the 1920s just because it's interesting (to me anyway) to discover what made her become a writer, and how the thoughts of what options she had as a 'spinster' were beginning to form. I love those Re-readings columns too.
Loved the TLS cover! And this is great — in truth, I’ve avoided Lilly Willowes for years now on the impression that I’d find it a little dark. But this wonderful bio is causing me to rethink.
Thanks Maria, it's nice to get a mention on the TLS cover (my editor is lovely) and I wanted to try to get the essence of Sylvia's young life across. I know what you mean about Lolly Willowes, it's such an interesting book in the way that it changes halfway through, which is what I plan to write about next!
Another writer I have yet to read! And I see that she also wrote a bio of TH White later in life. Also, did you ever think about writing historical fiction? She seems like a potentially great fictional character.
I didn't really know her either, Sarah, but Lolly Willowes is definitely worth reading (and short!). It's also, as Katherine Hughes says, very inspiring as a midlife novel, but it wasn't until I read Claire Harman's biog that I understood what led up to STW writing it - and how she saw the limits placed on unmarried women, even while she herself had escaped!
I loved reading this but I'm kicking myself because my sister gave me a copy of Lolly Willowes ages ago along with Elizabeth von Arnim's Enchanted April and I seem to have misplaced both. I replaced Enchanted in April last weekend when I spotted it on the shelf at our local bookshop and thanks to your post I'll pop off at buy Lolly Willowes. PS I was in Frome earlier this year to visit my sister who lives in a village on the outskirts of the town and was gutted to see that Sherlock and Pages was closed (it was a Monday so lots of shops were closed!) but I'll be back before too long I hope.
Thanks Harriet, I hope you do get hold of a copy of Lolly Willowes, I'd love to hear what you think. Oh, shame about the Somerset bookshop being closed! But glad you seem to have a good one near you. And I do love a charity bookshop find...
Such a coincidence - I'm actually just writing a piece about Lolly Willowes at the moment after someone recommended it to me last month. Will be very keen to see what everyone else thought about it! I have to say I knew nothing about it before I read it and was not expecting the ending AT ALL😆
Thanks Harriet, so pleased you're planning to write about Lolly Willowes too! Yes, I wish everyone could be equally surprised by the turn of events halfway through... and the strange turns the story takes after that. The first half is so different.
Ann, I found a little pocket of time to read Lolly Willowes and loved it! What a little firecracker of a book! And what an unexpected sideways move the plot makes in the second half! (I went into the book knowing nothing.) At this stage I have only vague impressions and questions percolating - were you intending that readers add their thoughts to the next post?
Thank you for introducing me to this brilliant writer!
So pleased you enjoyed it, Tash! I feel I haven't quite got the hang of the book club thing, so I need to look at how you do it... but I had intended to discuss the first half in the post above, then ran out of time! So I will do a shorter round-up/question-style post on the first half of Lolly Willowes later this week, then the second half next week.
She was impressive, wasn't she? An obvious candidate for university, but no one seemed to think of that. Yet she took charge, turned herself into a musicologist, and had a respectable career even before she took up writing! Interesting how at such a young age her thoughts turned to what other options unmarried women in midlife had (not many).
I began reading "Rural Lives " by Harriet Baker last night, which features Sylvia Townsend Warner (she was my reason for buying it )- so this is a lovely coincidence! She is such a remarkable writer and happily I still have several of her books to read. I loved this quote, “One does not admire things enough: and worst of all one allows whole days to slip by without once pausing to see an object, any object, exactly as it is, ” - certainly one to keep! Thank you too for the Times paywall offer as I love their rereadings column and often miss it!
Thanks Deborah! I think Harriet Baker captures STW in the 1930s very well. I decided to stop in the 1920s just because it's interesting (to me anyway) to discover what made her become a writer, and how the thoughts of what options she had as a 'spinster' were beginning to form. I love those Re-readings columns too.
Loved the TLS cover! And this is great — in truth, I’ve avoided Lilly Willowes for years now on the impression that I’d find it a little dark. But this wonderful bio is causing me to rethink.
Thanks Maria, it's nice to get a mention on the TLS cover (my editor is lovely) and I wanted to try to get the essence of Sylvia's young life across. I know what you mean about Lolly Willowes, it's such an interesting book in the way that it changes halfway through, which is what I plan to write about next!
Excellent! Maybe I’ll just read the first half of the novel 😊
Good idea! It’s funny, too.
As someone already said, her life story sounds an excellent novel! I didn't take to the start of Lolly Willows; maybe I'll give it another try.
Maybe she would inspire one a future novel of yours! It's quite an arch, mannered style, but definitely gets more poignant as you read on...
Another writer I have yet to read! And I see that she also wrote a bio of TH White later in life. Also, did you ever think about writing historical fiction? She seems like a potentially great fictional character.
PS She would inspire a great fictional character, I agree, but I don't think I can write fiction, alas!
I didn't really know her either, Sarah, but Lolly Willowes is definitely worth reading (and short!). It's also, as Katherine Hughes says, very inspiring as a midlife novel, but it wasn't until I read Claire Harman's biog that I understood what led up to STW writing it - and how she saw the limits placed on unmarried women, even while she herself had escaped!
Interesting! Adding Lolly Willowes to the TBR list!
I loved reading this but I'm kicking myself because my sister gave me a copy of Lolly Willowes ages ago along with Elizabeth von Arnim's Enchanted April and I seem to have misplaced both. I replaced Enchanted in April last weekend when I spotted it on the shelf at our local bookshop and thanks to your post I'll pop off at buy Lolly Willowes. PS I was in Frome earlier this year to visit my sister who lives in a village on the outskirts of the town and was gutted to see that Sherlock and Pages was closed (it was a Monday so lots of shops were closed!) but I'll be back before too long I hope.
Thanks Harriet, I hope you do get hold of a copy of Lolly Willowes, I'd love to hear what you think. Oh, shame about the Somerset bookshop being closed! But glad you seem to have a good one near you. And I do love a charity bookshop find...
Such a coincidence - I'm actually just writing a piece about Lolly Willowes at the moment after someone recommended it to me last month. Will be very keen to see what everyone else thought about it! I have to say I knew nothing about it before I read it and was not expecting the ending AT ALL😆
Thanks Harriet, so pleased you're planning to write about Lolly Willowes too! Yes, I wish everyone could be equally surprised by the turn of events halfway through... and the strange turns the story takes after that. The first half is so different.
I really thought it might turn into some sort of romance with a country neighbour 🤣
What a delightful of STW's early days. You have such a wonderful way of making your subjects come to life!
Many thanks, Jeffrey!
Ann, I found a little pocket of time to read Lolly Willowes and loved it! What a little firecracker of a book! And what an unexpected sideways move the plot makes in the second half! (I went into the book knowing nothing.) At this stage I have only vague impressions and questions percolating - were you intending that readers add their thoughts to the next post?
Thank you for introducing me to this brilliant writer!
So pleased you enjoyed it, Tash! I feel I haven't quite got the hang of the book club thing, so I need to look at how you do it... but I had intended to discuss the first half in the post above, then ran out of time! So I will do a shorter round-up/question-style post on the first half of Lolly Willowes later this week, then the second half next week.
That sounds great! I will look forward to reading others' comments about the book then.
I admire how steadfast she was in knowing her self-worth, and not slipping automatically into the submissive female role.
She was impressive, wasn't she? An obvious candidate for university, but no one seemed to think of that. Yet she took charge, turned herself into a musicologist, and had a respectable career even before she took up writing! Interesting how at such a young age her thoughts turned to what other options unmarried women in midlife had (not many).