#NYRBWomen26
“It was true, then, what she had read of the happy relationship between the Devil and his servants. If Euphan Macalzean had rated him—why, so, at a pinch, might she. Other things that she had read might also be true…”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphame...
“It was true, then, what she had read of the happy relationship between the Devil and his servants. If Euphan Macalzean had rated him—why, so, at a pinch, might she. Other things that she had read might also be true…”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphame...
January 24, 2026 at 9:24 PM
#NYRBWomen26
“It was true, then, what she had read of the happy relationship between the Devil and his servants. If Euphan Macalzean had rated him—why, so, at a pinch, might she. Other things that she had read might also be true…”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphame...
“It was true, then, what she had read of the happy relationship between the Devil and his servants. If Euphan Macalzean had rated him—why, so, at a pinch, might she. Other things that she had read might also be true…”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphame...
#NYRBWomen26
“They were going to the Witches’ Sabbath. Mrs. Leak was a witch too; a matronly witch like Agnes Sampson…” (p170) #LollyWillowes
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_S...
“They were going to the Witches’ Sabbath. Mrs. Leak was a witch too; a matronly witch like Agnes Sampson…” (p170) #LollyWillowes
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_S...
January 24, 2026 at 6:43 PM
#NYRBWomen26
“They were going to the Witches’ Sabbath. Mrs. Leak was a witch too; a matronly witch like Agnes Sampson…” (p170) #LollyWillowes
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_S...
“They were going to the Witches’ Sabbath. Mrs. Leak was a witch too; a matronly witch like Agnes Sampson…” (p170) #LollyWillowes
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_S...
I’ve been reading more about her depiction of satan. Ch 11 of this book is titled ‘Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Liberating Devil.’ 😈 “It is demonstrated how Warner drew on contemporary understandings of which cults & worked very much within a pre-existing tradition of Satanic feminism.” #NYRBWomen26
January 24, 2026 at 5:57 PM
I’ve been reading more about her depiction of satan. Ch 11 of this book is titled ‘Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Liberating Devil.’ 😈 “It is demonstrated how Warner drew on contemporary understandings of which cults & worked very much within a pre-existing tradition of Satanic feminism.” #NYRBWomen26
I haven’t read it. I added it to my list though after you mentioned how much you liked it. Here’s the woodcut STW mentions on page 164. #NYRBWomen26
January 24, 2026 at 5:48 PM
I haven’t read it. I added it to my list though after you mentioned how much you liked it. Here’s the woodcut STW mentions on page 164. #NYRBWomen26
#NYRBWomen26
Lolly Willowes
"...there is a dreadful kind of dreary immortality about being settled down on by one day after another."
...
"...so many ounces of stale bread of life a day..."
Lolly Willowes
"...there is a dreadful kind of dreary immortality about being settled down on by one day after another."
...
"...so many ounces of stale bread of life a day..."
January 22, 2026 at 2:40 AM
#NYRBWomen26
Lolly Willowes
"...there is a dreadful kind of dreary immortality about being settled down on by one day after another."
...
"...so many ounces of stale bread of life a day..."
Lolly Willowes
"...there is a dreadful kind of dreary immortality about being settled down on by one day after another."
...
"...so many ounces of stale bread of life a day..."
Wait, #NYRBwomen26 is Pandora the devil, or just a convenient person who got thrown in Titus's path?
January 22, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Wait, #NYRBwomen26 is Pandora the devil, or just a convenient person who got thrown in Titus's path?
"you would feel so comfortable and important. But you won't although it is much more probably than you might suppose." (209) This comment from the devil to Laura reminds me of one from Julian to Mildred late in Pym's Excellent Women. Satan here is so interesting and unscary, even kind. #NYRBwomen26
January 21, 2026 at 11:50 PM
"you would feel so comfortable and important. But you won't although it is much more probably than you might suppose." (209) This comment from the devil to Laura reminds me of one from Julian to Mildred late in Pym's Excellent Women. Satan here is so interesting and unscary, even kind. #NYRBwomen26
Just finished Lolly Willowes, which improves on re-reading. I do find the long, undivided sections a little wearing. It's nice to have a bit of white space and breathing room in the text! #NYRBwomen26
January 21, 2026 at 11:46 PM
Just finished Lolly Willowes, which improves on re-reading. I do find the long, undivided sections a little wearing. It's nice to have a bit of white space and breathing room in the text! #NYRBwomen26
Lolly Willowes: "Into Laura's memory came a picture...of Matthew Hopkins the witch-finder. Wearing a large hat he stood among a coven of witches, bound cross-legged upon their stools. (164) Anyone in #NYRBwomen26 read Katabasis by @rfkuang.bsky.social ? It has a character I thought might be Hopkins.
January 20, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Lolly Willowes: "Into Laura's memory came a picture...of Matthew Hopkins the witch-finder. Wearing a large hat he stood among a coven of witches, bound cross-legged upon their stools. (164) Anyone in #NYRBwomen26 read Katabasis by @rfkuang.bsky.social ? It has a character I thought might be Hopkins.
#NYRBWomen26
Lolly Willowes
"The Powers of Darkness, then, were no more fearful than a herd of bullocks in a field? Once round upon them and the sniffing encumbering horde made off, a scramble of ungainly rumps and foolish tails."
Lolly Willowes
"The Powers of Darkness, then, were no more fearful than a herd of bullocks in a field? Once round upon them and the sniffing encumbering horde made off, a scramble of ungainly rumps and foolish tails."
January 20, 2026 at 12:23 AM
#NYRBWomen26
Lolly Willowes
"The Powers of Darkness, then, were no more fearful than a herd of bullocks in a field? Once round upon them and the sniffing encumbering horde made off, a scramble of ungainly rumps and foolish tails."
Lolly Willowes
"The Powers of Darkness, then, were no more fearful than a herd of bullocks in a field? Once round upon them and the sniffing encumbering horde made off, a scramble of ungainly rumps and foolish tails."
January 18, 2026 at 7:20 AM
Super niche post. In Lolly Willowes, is Titus Peter Wimsey? P146 Bar Parlor of the Lamb & Flag -5 Red Herrings; rustic woodwork of rector's lawn- 9 Tailors; cricket Club-Murder Must Advertise; bell ringer & read the lessons-9 tailors; performing Coriolanus-Have His Carcase #NYRBwomen26
January 17, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Super niche post. In Lolly Willowes, is Titus Peter Wimsey? P146 Bar Parlor of the Lamb & Flag -5 Red Herrings; rustic woodwork of rector's lawn- 9 Tailors; cricket Club-Murder Must Advertise; bell ringer & read the lessons-9 tailors; performing Coriolanus-Have His Carcase #NYRBwomen26
Lolly Willowes: "She knew this was a moment for nothing but kind words, and not too many of them." 120 #NYRBwomen26 the punch of that last clause!
January 17, 2026 at 11:25 PM
Lolly Willowes: "She knew this was a moment for nothing but kind words, and not too many of them." 120 #NYRBwomen26 the punch of that last clause!
"Hoo! You daredevil," said the wind. "Have you come out to join us?" Yet sitting there w no companionship except those exciting voices she was quiet & happy. #NYRBwomen26
January 17, 2026 at 11:23 PM
"Hoo! You daredevil," said the wind. "Have you come out to join us?" Yet sitting there w no companionship except those exciting voices she was quiet & happy. #NYRBwomen26
Lolly Willowes: The unchastened gusts that banged against the side of the house & drove the smoke down the chimney, & the riotous gurgling of the rain in the gutters were congenial to her spirit. #NYRBwomen26 1/
January 17, 2026 at 11:23 PM
Lolly Willowes: The unchastened gusts that banged against the side of the house & drove the smoke down the chimney, & the riotous gurgling of the rain in the gutters were congenial to her spirit. #NYRBwomen26 1/
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner. "It is best as one grows older to strip oneself of possessions, to shed oneself downward like a tree, to be almost wholly east before one dies." (98) #NYRBwomen26 like the book The Swedish Art of Death Cleaning.
January 17, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner. "It is best as one grows older to strip oneself of possessions, to shed oneself downward like a tree, to be almost wholly east before one dies." (98) #NYRBwomen26 like the book The Swedish Art of Death Cleaning.
"Laura stamped her foot w impatience. 'Have done w your trumpery red herrings!' she cried." (97) She's Lolly in the title and to her family, but Laura in the text. #NYRBwomen26
January 17, 2026 at 11:15 PM
"Laura stamped her foot w impatience. 'Have done w your trumpery red herrings!' she cried." (97) She's Lolly in the title and to her family, but Laura in the text. #NYRBwomen26
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner #NYRBwomen26 "Nothing is impracticable for a single, middle-aged woman with an income of her own."(95) FYI: LW pubbed 1926. Woolf's lectures at Newnham 1928 that turned into A Room of Ones Own pubbed 1929. Also, thinking of Mildred from Pym's Excellent Women
January 17, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner #NYRBwomen26 "Nothing is impracticable for a single, middle-aged woman with an income of her own."(95) FYI: LW pubbed 1926. Woolf's lectures at Newnham 1928 that turned into A Room of Ones Own pubbed 1929. Also, thinking of Mildred from Pym's Excellent Women
Reading Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner w #NYRBwomen26 is a delightful distraction in these dark times. "Even Henry & Caroline, whom she saw every day, were half hidden under their accumulations--accumulations of prosperity, authority, daily experience. They were carpeted w experience. (84)
January 17, 2026 at 11:06 PM
Reading Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner w #NYRBwomen26 is a delightful distraction in these dark times. "Even Henry & Caroline, whom she saw every day, were half hidden under their accumulations--accumulations of prosperity, authority, daily experience. They were carpeted w experience. (84)
#NYRBWomen26
"Poor little creature, no doubt it missed the Devil, its warm nest in his shaggy flanks, its play with imp companions. Now it had been sent out on its master’s business, sent out too young into the world, like a slavey from an Institution."
2/2
"Poor little creature, no doubt it missed the Devil, its warm nest in his shaggy flanks, its play with imp companions. Now it had been sent out on its master’s business, sent out too young into the world, like a slavey from an Institution."
2/2
January 17, 2026 at 6:45 PM
#NYRBWomen26
"Poor little creature, no doubt it missed the Devil, its warm nest in his shaggy flanks, its play with imp companions. Now it had been sent out on its master’s business, sent out too young into the world, like a slavey from an Institution."
2/2
"Poor little creature, no doubt it missed the Devil, its warm nest in his shaggy flanks, its play with imp companions. Now it had been sent out on its master’s business, sent out too young into the world, like a slavey from an Institution."
2/2
#NYRBWomen26
Lolly Willowes
"Strange that anything so small and weak should be the Devil’s Officer, plenipotentiary of such a power. Strange that she should stand trembling and amazed before a little rag-and-bone kitten with absurdly large ears."
1/2
Lolly Willowes
"Strange that anything so small and weak should be the Devil’s Officer, plenipotentiary of such a power. Strange that she should stand trembling and amazed before a little rag-and-bone kitten with absurdly large ears."
1/2
January 17, 2026 at 6:44 PM
#NYRBWomen26
Lolly Willowes
"Strange that anything so small and weak should be the Devil’s Officer, plenipotentiary of such a power. Strange that she should stand trembling and amazed before a little rag-and-bone kitten with absurdly large ears."
1/2
Lolly Willowes
"Strange that anything so small and weak should be the Devil’s Officer, plenipotentiary of such a power. Strange that she should stand trembling and amazed before a little rag-and-bone kitten with absurdly large ears."
1/2
#nyrbwomen26 Lolly Willowes was such a gas to read, I found myself trying to explain the book, the plot to anyone I ran into, and you can imagine how that went! For those still readling I will just say I loved section 2, and section 3 is hard to explain to your favorite barista!
January 15, 2026 at 4:42 PM
#nyrbwomen26 Lolly Willowes was such a gas to read, I found myself trying to explain the book, the plot to anyone I ran into, and you can imagine how that went! For those still readling I will just say I loved section 2, and section 3 is hard to explain to your favorite barista!
I wondered what Lolly Willowes would be like reading the second time around. Would it be just as good? Yes, possibly more so. It's utterly delightful and I'm so glad to be reading it again. #NYRBWomen26
January 15, 2026 at 1:49 AM
I wondered what Lolly Willowes would be like reading the second time around. Would it be just as good? Yes, possibly more so. It's utterly delightful and I'm so glad to be reading it again. #NYRBWomen26
#NYRBWomen26
"This new year was changing her whole conception of spring. She had thought of it as a denial of winter, a green spear that thrust through a tyrant’s rusty armour. Now she saw it as something filial, gently unlacing the helm of the old warrior and comforting his rough cheek."
C'mon!
3
"This new year was changing her whole conception of spring. She had thought of it as a denial of winter, a green spear that thrust through a tyrant’s rusty armour. Now she saw it as something filial, gently unlacing the helm of the old warrior and comforting his rough cheek."
C'mon!
3
January 15, 2026 at 12:32 AM
#NYRBWomen26
"This new year was changing her whole conception of spring. She had thought of it as a denial of winter, a green spear that thrust through a tyrant’s rusty armour. Now she saw it as something filial, gently unlacing the helm of the old warrior and comforting his rough cheek."
C'mon!
3
"This new year was changing her whole conception of spring. She had thought of it as a denial of winter, a green spear that thrust through a tyrant’s rusty armour. Now she saw it as something filial, gently unlacing the helm of the old warrior and comforting his rough cheek."
C'mon!
3
#NYRBWomen26
"When Mrs. Leak smoothed her apron, the shadow solemnified the gesture as though she were moulding an universe."
"If they were different from other people, why shouldn’t they be?"
"...he lived in a small surprised cottage near the church."
2.
"When Mrs. Leak smoothed her apron, the shadow solemnified the gesture as though she were moulding an universe."
"If they were different from other people, why shouldn’t they be?"
"...he lived in a small surprised cottage near the church."
2.
January 15, 2026 at 12:31 AM
#NYRBWomen26
"When Mrs. Leak smoothed her apron, the shadow solemnified the gesture as though she were moulding an universe."
"If they were different from other people, why shouldn’t they be?"
"...he lived in a small surprised cottage near the church."
2.
"When Mrs. Leak smoothed her apron, the shadow solemnified the gesture as though she were moulding an universe."
"If they were different from other people, why shouldn’t they be?"
"...he lived in a small surprised cottage near the church."
2.