Lolly Willowes : Or the Loving Huntsman (New York Review Books Classics)

Amazon.com

Sylvia Townsend Warner began her literary career as a poet, and her first novel is as nimble and precise as poetry and reads as if it might have been composed to a meter. Like some of Jane Austen's fiction, Lolly Willowes is a comedy about the perils, pleasures, and consolations of spinsterhood, and the predicament of its heroine is at first deliberately and deceptively commonplace. "Aunt Lolly, a middle-aging lady, light-footed upon stairs, and indispensable for Christmas Eve and birthday preparations," is nevertheless troubled by vague, indefinable longings, a hankering after the solitude of woods and dark rural places. At last a revelation in a greengrocer's leads her to abandon her outraged London family and take rooms in an obscure hamlet, Great Mop.

Here her neighbors keep curiously late and noisy hours, but otherwise allow her to pass the time "in perfect idleness and contentment." She is eventually pursued into her idyll, however, by her nephew, and Titus's familiar small demands drive her to rage and despair: "No! You shan't get me. I won't go back. I won't.... Oh! Is there no help?" She is promptly visited by a mysterious black kitten, who fastens its claws upon her hand and draws blood. At once she understands. The kitten is her familiar, and has been sent by dark forces. "She, Laura Willowes, in England, in the year 1922, had entered into a compact with the Devil."

She has, in short, become a witch--or, rather, she has rediscovered her own slumbering diabolical potential, in the unlikely setting of a Buckinghamshire hamlet that--as she now realizes--is peopled entirely by witches. Laura soon attends a rollicking but ultimately rather disappointing midnight Sabbath; she is visited by Satan in the shape of a pleasant-faced man in a corduroy coat and gaiters who rids her of Titus and restores her to privacy and peace. She is left with a vision of the women "all over England, all over Europe ... as common as blackberries, and as unregarded" to whom he has offered the promise of adventure, "the dangerous black night to stretch your wings in." It is this vision that lends the novel its subversive edge, that ultimately allies it less with the work of Austen than with that of Virginia Woolf, and with later feminists. They "know they are dynamite," says Laura of Satan's women, "and long for the concussion that may justify them." --Sarah Waters

Book Description

In Lolly Willowes, Sylvia Townsend Warner tells of an aging spinster's struggle to break way from her controlling family—a classic story that she treats with cool feminist intelligence, while adding a dimension of the supernatural and strange. Warner is one of the outstanding and indispensable mavericks of twentieth-century literature, a writer to set beside Djuna Barnes and Jane Bowles, with a subversive genius that anticipates the fantastic flights of such contemporaries as Angela Carter and Jeanette Winterson.

Customer Reviews:

more like a slow cruise down the river than a high-speed chase.......2006-02-02

This book might not be for everyone. The pace is very slow and leisurely. There isn't much action, in fact periods of 20 years go by without much action. However, the writing is elegant, flowing and rhythmical, a pleasure to read. There isn't a single sentece in the book that is jarring or out of place. The story is based on the lives of superfluous women after WWI and the Spanish influenza killed off a lot of males that would otherwise have been available for marriage. It is also a nod to the suspicion in which society in general has held unmarried women, and the fact that for a long time there was no place for them in society - they couldn't go out and work and live independent lives and so were often just used by their relatives as unpaid labor in exchange for a place to live and financial support. There really isn't any witchcraft in the book, at least not the Harry Potter kind of witchcraft. Lolly Willowes's pact with the devil is just how her sudden desire for independance would seem to her friends and relatives - the devil got into her.
Overall the book is a pleasure to read, but you have to be willing to slow down and enjoy the scenery.

Superb Feminist Classic.......2005-10-09

I also cannot believe that just because the heroine (spoiler warning..) abandons her relatives, runs off to the forest, dances with the devil, adopts a black cat, and becomes a witch they put this in horror. That's an outrage. This is one of the classic pieces of women's literature of all time and when I went to college it was required reading at the UW (Washington, not Wisconsen). The book, besides having obvious overtones of individuality and escape from oppression/societal norms, deals with a wider array of controversial (still, but especially then) topics than can be easily summarized. (For instance, book could be read as very existentialist because it's never quite certain that she didn't dream it all) Suffice it to say that the book is an extraordinary read. Also, it is a small book, sparsely written, episodic, plot-driven, but with just enough sparkling detail to keep the reader transfixed. And it is funny. My favorite part is when she meets the satan-cat and realizes the cat is the devil but she is, though mildly alarmed at first, too impressed by his "Satanic playfullness" to worry.

Not very interesting.......2001-09-22

My book group chose this book by the interesting description here and review. The idea of a spinster leaving her family to become a witch intrigued us all, but we were disappointed in the book. We found the character not very interesting, and the lack of action calmed us all into slumber while trying to read it. It wasn't a terrible book, it had some interesting things to say, but we could not understand all the immensely positive reviews here.

An astonishing edition of an astonishing novel.......2000-03-05

These new little NYRB editions are just honeys--I have yet to read one that wasn't absolutely spectacular (the editors have superb taste), and the editions themselves are little gems--they FEEL so nice in your hands because they're made of gorgeous high quality paper and set in a lovely font.

Warner's novel is fantastic--its rhythms are slow but musical, and it takes quite a while to determine what awaits Laura in Great Mop. A very, very funny book that also comments movingly on the condition of "odd women" in the generation before Suffrage... I couldn't put this down!

Academy Chicago Publishers does it again.......1999-12-17

Lolly Willowes is the spirited story of a woman searching for herself. The themes in this book are as applicable now as they were when it was written. Thank you to Academy Chicago for bringing us this beautiful edition with an insightful introduction (they also use the original cover art).

Average customer rating:

LOLLY WILLOWES or The Loving Huntsman
Sylvia Warner
Manufacturer: Grosset and Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H76VWC

Average customer rating:

LOLLY WILLOWES OR THE LOVING HUNTSMAN
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Manufacturer: Chatto & Windus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CI0AK

Average customer rating:

Lolly Willowes or The Loving Huntsman

Manufacturer: The Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000G3G0FK

Average customer rating:

Lolly Willowes or The Loving Huntsman
Sylvia Townsend Warne
Manufacturer: New Phoenix Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LEISYU

Average customer rating:

Lolly Willowes or the Loving Huntsman
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Manufacturer: Academy Chicago Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JWJOMY

"Lolly Willowes or the Loving Huntsman By Sylvia Townsend Warner

Average customer rating:

"Lolly Willowes or the Loving Huntsman By Sylvia Townsend Warner
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Manufacturer: Chatto& Windus-London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MIWHU6

Average customer rating:

"Lolly Willowes or the Loving Huntsman" By Sylvia Townsend Warner
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Manufacturer: Chatto & Windus-London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Product Description

It is commonly believed that witches no longer exist,in England at any rate. But the heroine of this novel is a maiden lady who in August 1922 entered into a compact with satan and became a witch. It is a remarkable story,spiced with wit and irony that have distinguished all Miss Townsend Warner's work.

Average customer rating:

Lolly Willowes or The Loving Huntsman
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Manufacturer: Academy Chicago Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000Q7X8J2

Average customer rating:

Lolly Willowes or the Loving Huntsman
Sylvia Townsend Warne
Manufacturer: VIRAGO (LITT)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K7XTWY

Book Description

Swordmaster. . .

Ryshad was a warrior, a sworn man pledged to defend the Empire and his lord with his sword and his life. Livak was a thief, a woman as dangerous and cunning as she was beautiful. Brought together by fate--and the wily wizard Shiv--these unlikely allies once traveled to the frozen lands of the North to find answers to an ancient mystery. Instead, though, they discovered death and worse at the hands of the Elietimm, a band of evil sorcerers who nearly destroyed them.

Or Slave?

Now, the Elietimm have infiltrated the Empire using their strange and deadly power. It is up to a reunited Ryshad and Livak, joined by Shiv, to discover the secret knowledge that can save the Empire--a mission that will lead them far from the lands they know. It is Ryshad, though, who will journey farthest, to a distant country where nothing is what it seems, not even the magical sword that has long protected him. And if that sword should turn against him now...

Customer Reviews:

Another Excellent Offering.......2006-08-04

This, the second book in the (five book, I believe) series relating the story of the thief Livak and her entourage, was just as good as the first one. Which is, in my opinion, high praise. It actually follows more closely one of the cohorts, only mentioning Livak occasionally in passing, but it's a fascinating read, and explores parts of Einarinn unvisited in the first book. If you're a fantasy fan, definitely pick up book one. If you like that, you'll like book two as well. On a side note, it's nice to see so many fantasy books nowadays put women in a heroic role. (Livak, the central character of book one, is a female.)

Absorbing Tale, Satisfying Ending.......2003-03-06

The Swordsman's Oath, the second tale set in McKenna's world of Einarinn, is every bit as rich and colorful as her debut. The core conflict-driver-the urgent need to understand and neutralize the ancient magic of the blond strangers known alternately as Elietimm, Ice Men, or Ice Islanders-has ratcheted the main action up a notch. Still, for some readers, this book may fall a little short of the standard that McKenna established in The Thief's Gamble.

First-person narration of the central storyline has shifted from gambler and thief Livak to professional swordsman Ryshad. Unfortunately, he has only limited opportunity to apply his swordsmanship toward the actual advancement of the story, though his recently acquired Old Empire blade plays a key role. He's very like Livak in some ways: smart, courageous, cool-headed, with a strong sense of honor. Born to a rather higher station in life than she, his more respectable upbringing and twelve years in service to his patron prince have given him better-polished speech and behavior, despite his rough-and-tumble profession. His occasional ruminations on a possible future with Livak are among several minor details that sometimes make him seem more girlish than she's ever been.

Some months after the end of the previous book, by special request of Archmage Planir, Ryshad's patron loans him to the Hadrumal wizards for the duration of the Elietimm crisis. Having sworn to avenge the death of his friend Aiten, in addition to his basic oath of service, this arrangement suits Ryshad well enough. He's to join wizard Shivvalan, sent to retrieve a cache of Old Empire artifacts from retired wizard Viltred. A band of Elietimm raid Viltred's home and claim the artifacts. Ryshad and the wizards take off in pursuit, detouring only to collect a very reluctant Livak after Viltred casts an augury suggesting she still has a role to play against the Elietimm. From there on, they get swept up in events over which they have little or no control.

There are two substantial chunks of storyline in The Swordsman's Oath that pretty much bring the main action to a dead halt as they unfold. Ryshad's little side trip into slavery strains readers' belief at several points, and skirts perilously close to plain silliness at certain moments, though at others it makes fairly gripping reading. The history of the Old Empire's lost colony is more germane and generally more compelling, but takes an unnecessarily long time to get to the important parts, and raises assorted storyline issues on some of the finer details.

Such quibbles aside, the tale McKenna tells here is an absorbing one, with a satisfying ending that sets up interesting possibilities for future installments. Solving the mystery of the lost colony yields important information about the ancient magic the wizards have been struggling to understand, and the Elietimm themselves are beginning to emerge from the shadows in which their activities have been cloaked. They're shaping up to be wicked fun bad guys.

I LOVE th Einarinn series!!.......2002-11-24

This book is full of suspence. I found myself staying up late into the night because i just couldn't put this book down. If you are a person who like to read about magic and sorcery than this is the book for you. It has love, mystery, action, and is full of much more. I'm not much of a reader because i can never find books that really intest me but boy did this one keep me up. I found myself thinking about this book all the time. I have nothing but good things to say about this book and this whole wonderful serious.
If you haven't read the first book than you won't get most of the story so i suggest pick them up first. Once you read one i garentee you will be forced to keep reading the rest of the series. I just pray that Juliet E. McKenna will NEVER stop adding sequels to this story because i just have to know what happens to these characters who i feel so closely to.
Not just this book but the whole series is the very best. and this book is just as good as the first, maybe even better. I advise ALL to read this series.
I am now trying to buy the 3rd and 4th installment to the series, and hope that i will soon be picking up the 5th, 6th, 7th, and all the rest up to the 100th. I hope the author is up to the challenge.

Improvement on a good first book.......2002-07-28

Juliet McKenna manages to improve on her first book with another based on the same characters, although with a different main character this time around. When she concentrates on Ryshad's story, everything comes together very well, especially his adventures in the Aldabreshi islands. The Aldabreshi society (which was not described in the first book) seems much more internally complex than that of the countries/regions where the characters live. The story of Temar is a little distracting in the beginning since it's hard to tell what's going on, but once the two storylines link up first in Aldabreshi then in Kel Ar'Ayen, things move along much better. I don't care for the inclusion of old manuscripts that have only marginal bearing on the story, though. They would be better shortened to chapter headings rather than multipage introductions. I'm definitely looking forward to the third book.

A Difficult Review.......2002-03-10

I've had this book for over a year and after several stops and starts, finally finished. The bottom line is "The Swordsman's Oath" is just not as good as the previous novel in the series. I liked the story and the characters, who really seem to live and breathe, but Juliet McKenna really has overwritten the narrative this time around. The 500+ page book would have been greatly improved by the editing of 50-75 pages of unnessary detail. On the positive side, the author really knows how to write for character, especially Ryshad this time around. Every one appearing along the way is fully realized and three dimensional. It seems this book has introduced more than a few characters who may be major players in future volumes. So, not as good does not mean bad, only more...challenging than what has past. Recommended.

The Swordsman's Oath (The Second Tale of Einarinn)

Average customer rating:

The Swordsman's Oath (The Second Tale of Einarinn)
Juliet E. McKenna
Manufacturer: Orbit
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

The Swordsman's Oath : The Second Tale of Einarinn
Juliet E. McKenna
Manufacturer: Orbit
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000PIJXWS

Book Description

Meet the characters from Spider-Man 2!

This book contains the inside scoop on our hero, Spider-Man; his archenemy, Doc Ock; and many others from the hit movie.

Average customer rating:
The Philosophy of Freedom: The Basis for a Modern World Conception
Rudolf Steiner
Manufacturer: Rudolf Steiner Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Free Will & Determinism | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Logic & Language | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Comparative Religion | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Theosophy : An Introduction to the Spiritual Processes in Human Life and in the Cosmos

Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and its Attainment

Intuitive Thinking As a Spiritual Path : A Philosophy of Freedom (Classics in Anthroposophy)

Holism and Evolution: The original source of the holistic approach to life

Colour Colour

ASIN: 1855840820

Book Description

Is our sense of freedom merely an illusion? This questio cannot be settled by philosophical argument. It is not simply granted to us. If we want to become free, we have to try through our own inner activity to overcome habits of thought and reach a point of view that recognizes no limits to knowledge, sees through all illusions, and opens the door to an experience of the reality of the spiritual world.

This is a special reprint of the acclaimed translation - by Michael Wilson - of Rudolf Steiner's classic work on thinking as a spiritual path.

Average customer rating:
The Philosophy of Freedom, the Basis for a Modern World Conception
Rudolf Steiner
Manufacturer: Anthroposophic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WISCE6

Average customer rating:
The philosophy of freedom: The basis for a modern world conception; some results of introspective observation following the methods of natural science. ... German, with an introd. by Michael Wilson]
Rudolf Steiner
Manufacturer: Anthroposophic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Epistemology | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Free Will & Determinism | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007DSCZA

Book Description

Do you know what the karat weight of jewelry refers to? Find out this and the meanings of hundreds of other specialized terms in the Handbook of Fine Jewelry. The automatic appeal of spectacular jewelry, from antique to contemporary, is focused here through exquisite designs, brilliant gemstones and unique settings. In easy to use, encyclopedic format from A to Z, jewelry terms from ancient to modern are defined and lavishly illustrated by hundreds of beautiful color photographs. Famous jewelry designers and materials are included with illustrated examples of each. Jewelry styles and components, gem stones, and descriptive terms are included. This volume will become an important reference for jewelry dealers, collectors, and all who enjoy jewelry's aesthetic qualities.

Customer Reviews:

OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHY- GREAT IDEAS.......2004-03-05

This book is a pleasure to look at for great ideas for any kitchen. Whether you are building a new home or looking for ideas for remodeling your existing kitchen, you will find this a great resource!

Book Description

With their current album SURVIVOR still topping charts the world over, months after it's release, and a sold out world tour well under-way, the popularity and massive fan base of The Mighty Child is unquestionable.

DESTINY`S CHILD THE UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY IN WORDS AND PICTURES is ideally presented with these admirers in mind. Although universally loved by fans from all sectors of the population, the prime target audience of 12 - 30 years old are certain to approve of this beautifully designed book.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books