Sylvia Townsend Warner
Encyclopedia
Sylvia Nora Townsend Warner (6 December 1893 – 1 May 1978) was an English novelist and poet.
and was, for many years, associated with the prestigious Harrow History Prize
which was renamed the Townsend Warner History Prize in his honour, after his death in 1916. As a child, Sylvia seemingly enjoyed an idyllic childhood in rural Devonshire, but was strongly affected by her father's death.
She moved to London and worked in a munitions factory at the outbreak of World War I
. She was friendly with a number of the "Bright Young Things" of the 1920s. Her first major success was the novel Lolly Willowes. In 1923 Warner met T. F. Powys whose writing influenced her own and whose work she in turn encouraged. It was at T.F. Powys' house in 1930 that Warner first met Valentine Ackland
, a young poet. The two women fell in love and settled at Frome Vauchurch
in Dorset. Alarmed by the growing threat of fascism, they were active in the Communist Party of Great Britain
, and visited Spain on behalf of the Red Cross during the Civil War
. They lived together from 1930 until Ackland's death in 1969. Warner's political engagement continued for the rest of her life, even after her disillusionment with communisim. She died on 1 May 1978.
Her novels were Lolly Willowes
(1926), Mr Fortune's Maggot (1927), The True Heart (1929), Summer Will Show (1936), After the Death of Don Juan (1938), The Corner That Held Them (1948), The Flint Anchor (1954). Recurring themes are evident in a number of her works. These include a rejection of Christianity (in Mr Fortune's Maggot, and in Lolly Willowes, where the protagonist becomes a witch); the position of women in patriarchal societies (Lolly Willowes, Summer Will Show, The Corner that Held Them); ambiguous sexuality, or bisexuality (Lolly Willowes, Mr Fortune's Maggot, Summer Will Show); and lyrical descriptions of landscape.
Her short stories include the collections A Moral Ending and Other Stories, The Salutation, More Joy in Heaven, The Cat's Cradle Book, A Garland of Straw, The Museum of Cheats. Winter in the Air, A Spirit Rises, A Stranger with a Bag, The Innocent and the Guilty, and One Thing Leading to Another. Her final work was a series of linked short stories set in the supernatural Kingdoms of Elfin
.
In addition to fiction, Warner published a biography of the novelist T.H. White, which The New York Times
declared "a small masterpiece which may well be read long after the writings of its subject have been forgotten." Although Townsend never wrote an autobiography, Scenes of Childhood was compiled after her death from short reminiscences published over the years in the New Yorker. She also translated Contre Saint-Beuve by Marcel Proust
from the original French
into English
.
In the 1970s, she became known as a significant writer of feminist or lesbian sentiment, and her novels were among the earlier ones to be revived by Virago Press
. Selected letters of Warner and Valentine Ackland
have been published twice: Wendy Mulford
edited a collection titled This Narrow Place in 1988, and ten years later Susanna Pinney published another selection under the title Jealousy in Connecticut.
Life
Sylvia Townsend Warner was born at Harrow on the Hill, the only child of George Townsend Warner and his wife Eleanora (Nora) Hudleston. Her father was a house-master at Harrow SchoolHarrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and was, for many years, associated with the prestigious Harrow History Prize
Harrow History Prize
The Harrow History Prize or the Townsend Warner Preparatory Schools History Prize is a prestigious annual history competition for children at British preparatory schools. It currently attracts around 800 entrants each year.-History:...
which was renamed the Townsend Warner History Prize in his honour, after his death in 1916. As a child, Sylvia seemingly enjoyed an idyllic childhood in rural Devonshire, but was strongly affected by her father's death.
She moved to London and worked in a munitions factory at the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She was friendly with a number of the "Bright Young Things" of the 1920s. Her first major success was the novel Lolly Willowes. In 1923 Warner met T. F. Powys whose writing influenced her own and whose work she in turn encouraged. It was at T.F. Powys' house in 1930 that Warner first met Valentine Ackland
Valentine Ackland
Valentine Ackland was an English poet, an important figure in the emergence of modernism in twentieth-century British poetry.-Life:...
, a young poet. The two women fell in love and settled at Frome Vauchurch
Frome Vauchurch
Frome Vauchurch is a village in west Dorset, England, situated in the Frome valley just outside Maiden Newton, seven miles north west of Dorchester. The village has a population of 154 .It was the home of Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland....
in Dorset. Alarmed by the growing threat of fascism, they were active in the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
, and visited Spain on behalf of the Red Cross during the Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. They lived together from 1930 until Ackland's death in 1969. Warner's political engagement continued for the rest of her life, even after her disillusionment with communisim. She died on 1 May 1978.
Work
Early in her career she researched 15th and 16th century music, and spent ten years as one of the editors of the substantial Tudor Church Music, published by Oxford University Press. In 1934 she published a joint collection of poems with Valentine Ackland entitled Whether a Dove or a Seagull.Her novels were Lolly Willowes
Lolly Willowes
Lolly Willowes is a novel by Sylvia Townsend Warner, her first, published in 1926. A satirical comedy of manners incorporating elements of fantasy, it is the story of a young middle-class spinster who takes up the practice of witchcraft....
(1926), Mr Fortune's Maggot (1927), The True Heart (1929), Summer Will Show (1936), After the Death of Don Juan (1938), The Corner That Held Them (1948), The Flint Anchor (1954). Recurring themes are evident in a number of her works. These include a rejection of Christianity (in Mr Fortune's Maggot, and in Lolly Willowes, where the protagonist becomes a witch); the position of women in patriarchal societies (Lolly Willowes, Summer Will Show, The Corner that Held Them); ambiguous sexuality, or bisexuality (Lolly Willowes, Mr Fortune's Maggot, Summer Will Show); and lyrical descriptions of landscape.
Her short stories include the collections A Moral Ending and Other Stories, The Salutation, More Joy in Heaven, The Cat's Cradle Book, A Garland of Straw, The Museum of Cheats. Winter in the Air, A Spirit Rises, A Stranger with a Bag, The Innocent and the Guilty, and One Thing Leading to Another. Her final work was a series of linked short stories set in the supernatural Kingdoms of Elfin
Kingdoms of Elfin
Kingdoms of Elfin is a short story collection by Sylvia Townsend Warner, published in 1977, a year before her death. The stories are an interconnected series of satirical fantasy stories detailing the manners of the fairy courts of Europe, it was Warner's last published work....
.
In addition to fiction, Warner published a biography of the novelist T.H. White, which The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
declared "a small masterpiece which may well be read long after the writings of its subject have been forgotten." Although Townsend never wrote an autobiography, Scenes of Childhood was compiled after her death from short reminiscences published over the years in the New Yorker. She also translated Contre Saint-Beuve by Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
from the original French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
In the 1970s, she became known as a significant writer of feminist or lesbian sentiment, and her novels were among the earlier ones to be revived by Virago Press
Virago Press
Virago is a British publishing company founded in 1973 by Carmen Callil to publish books by women writers. Both new works and reissued books by neglected authors have featured on the imprint's list....
. Selected letters of Warner and Valentine Ackland
Valentine Ackland
Valentine Ackland was an English poet, an important figure in the emergence of modernism in twentieth-century British poetry.-Life:...
have been published twice: Wendy Mulford
Wendy Mulford
Wendy Mulford is a British poet, associated with the contemporary avant garde scene, with the British Poetry Revival, and with the development of feminist poetry in 1970s. Her poetry has been viewed as "difficult to categorise" and as "multi- and non-linear"...
edited a collection titled This Narrow Place in 1988, and ten years later Susanna Pinney published another selection under the title Jealousy in Connecticut.
Poetry collections
- New Collected Poems(Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 2008) - Selected Poems Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1985)
Further reading
- Harman, Claire (1989) Sylvia Townsend Warner: A Biography. Chatto & Windus
- Pinney, Susanna (1998) I'll Stand by You: Selected Letters of Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland with narrative by Sylvia Townsend Warner. North Pomfret, Vt.: Pimlico/Trafalgar Square ISBN 0712673717
- Mulford, Wendy (1988) This Narrow Place: Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland 1930-1951
External links
- The Sylvia Townsend Warner Society
- The Sylvia Townsend Warner Archive, Dorset County Museum, UK
- Review of An Affair to Remember, New York Times, March 7, 1999