A review by katie_greenwinginmymouth
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

mysterious fast-paced

3.75

Even though the book is short there was quite a slow set up before we finally see Laura/Lolly breaking away from her family and moving to a small rural village, where gradually things start to take on a more supernatural tone.

Laura doesn’t immediately settle into village life, she has staked so much on this move that she stubbornly tries to get the measure of the place walking miles and miles across the landscape each day hoping for something to click. Eventually when she lets go a little more the landscape comes back to meet her and reveals the ways in which it can bend and morph to her in ways she never imagined.

It’s an old book so obviously a lot is alluded at rather than said explicitly, but it doesn’t take a huge leap to identify the queer subtext in the story. I appreciated the fascinating commentary on gender politics of the time, particularly the challenges of achieving true independence as a woman - something that Laura manages because of her class and access to her own funds (although the part where she discovers her brother has invested her money on her behalf and lost half of it is WILD). She at least has some self awareness of her position whereas her nephew Titus never recognises how easy it is for him to move and settle wherever he likes, his immense privilege carrying him through life with ease. I did enjoy the way Laura manifests a solution to his unwanted presence, and in so doing realises her witchy powers.