Lolly Willowes cover art

Lolly Willowes

Penguin Modern Classics

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Lolly Willowes

By: Sylvia Townsend Warner
Narrated by: Olivia Darnley
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Lolly Willowes, so gentle and accommodating, has depths no one suspects. When she suddenly announces that she is leaving London and moving, alone, to the depths of the countryside, her overbearing relatives are horrified. But Lolly has a greater, far darker calling than family: witchcraft.

©1926 Sylvia Townsend Warner (P)2021 Penguin Audio Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction

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Critic reviews

A great shout of life and individuality. (Justine Jordan)
The book I'll be pressing into people's hands forever is Lolly Willowes [. . .] Starting as a straightforward, albeit beautifully written family saga, it tips suddenly into extraordinary, lucid wildness. (Helen McDonald)
Sylvia Townsend Warner moves with sombre confidence into the realm of the supernatural, and her prose, in its simple, abrupt evocations, has something preternatural about it (John Updike)
All stars
Most relevant  
I first read this in 1978 and still have my old women’s press copy. Ostensibly this is about witches, but there is much more about the role of older women in society. I was inspired to re-read this after reading Weyward by Emilia Hart. The countryside is both beautiful and macabre and plays an important role. The narration is first rate

Sympathy for the Devil

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I'm not sure how I even found this book but I'm glad I did. Written in an era when women were thought feeble of mind & body and required others to care for them mentally & physically.
This story is about Lolly (Laura) Willowes and how she went about claiming her life and soul back.

An enchanting witchy story.

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I adored this book. It starts as a gentle, if sometimes piercing, satire on post-Victorian upper class family life and turns into something entirely unexpected and brilliant. I think I might be good friends with Lolly, were she real.

Ahead of its time

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The narrative is as quirky as the central character. Comparisons and observations are delightful and Lolly's psyche is delicious. And at the bottom of the novel is a truly relatable account of the status and plight of the "maiden aunt". Worth more than a single listen!

Subtle, ever, relevant!

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What a wonderful surprise this turned out to be! Delightful from beginning to end. Mind: this is the kind of beautiful that needs savouring. It is the literary equivalent to slow food. If you're looking for high drama, this is not your kind of book. But for those who enjoy lyrical prose, subtle irony and fine characterisation, this is an absolute treat! Such an original, unexpected and trenchant social critique contained in the twist at the end, too! The narrator also does the book more than justice, a fabulous performance!

Absolutely beautiful!

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An enjoyably witty, strange story of spinsterhood, witchcraft and freedom. The narrator's voice is like liquid gold, just flows through one's mind in such a relaxing way. All over, a great audible experience.,

Delightful tale, Beautifully narrated

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One of my all-time favourite books. A wickedly funny, timeless story, beautifully narrated here. Sit back and enjoy!

Just perfect

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Reviews seemed promising but gave up halfway through Pt 2 as story didn’t seem to go anywhere . Maybe I should have stuck with it but life’s too short No idea why Audible recommended this one for me

Beautifully narrated but failed to engage

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Beautifully written and beguilingly read but a feeble story. An allegory for how overlooked individuals can become invisible but too much allegory and too little interesting narrative.

I wanted to like it but could not.

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Why do I do this to myself?? Modern classics with feminist messages. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm
Having studied Women's History at Uni, I ought to have known better.
The synopsis of this story is a cosseted but unfulfilled woman reaches menopausal age and decides to become a witch.
An insult to witches everywhere. The story limps on with a day in the life of every jar of jam on the shelf having its boring place in the narrative. It is a sly and provocative psychosis where she imagines all sorts of nonsense as so many feminist writers do and invites us to join in. The highlight is when on a humid day, a jug of milk belonging to her brother goes off. Yes basically that is it. She paints everyone in beige and tries to excite us with her own grey dullness.
A bit like 'The Yellow Wallpaper' or 'Mrs Dalloway' tedious women who we have been duped into paying good money to be bored by. Word salad and no story, insulting to gifted women who are witches, hereditary witches born that way, learned witches, hard working ones. Any spinster can do it apparently and Satan with all the charm of a cheap gigolo says nothing to redeem himself, or the bloody book. Six hours of my life wasted.

So many words and so little story

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