Lolly Willowes: Or, The Loving Huntsman

Considered an early feminist classic, Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Lolly Willowes; Or The Loving Huntsman is a fantastical comedy about a middle-aged witch and her search for peace that was selected as the first ever Book of the Month upon publication in 1926.

“When her father died, Laura Willowes went to live in London with her elder brother and his family…[she] was a gentle creature, and the little girls loved her; she would soon fit into her new home. 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.”

Feeling suffocated by the demands of her family, Laura Willowes abandons everything to move to Chiltern Hills. Acquainting herself with her neighbors and the land, she experiences a taste of freedom she desires; unaware that her nephew Titus has invaded her new home. Annoyed by his expectations, Laura goes out into the woods and forges a pact with Satan to be free, and begins to dabble in witchcraft. Professionally typeset with a beautifully designed cover, this edition of Lolly Willowes; Or, The Loving Hunstman is a reimagining of a feminist classic for the modern reader.