Lolly Willowes at 100
In this FREE daytime talk, the Chairman and Academic Director of the Thomas Hardy Society, Mark Damon Chutter, will mark Sylvia Townsend Warner’s birthday by exploring the enduring significance of ‘Lolly Willowes‘ as the novel celebrates its centenary year.
First published in 1926, ‘Lolly Willowes‘ remains one of the most original and subversive novels of the twentieth century. Through the story of Laura Willowes, a seemingly dutiful spinster who rejects convention in search of independence, Warner challenges expectations surrounding gender, family, freedom and self-determination. From the novel’s sharp social satire and understated humour to its celebrated embrace of witchcraft as a symbol of liberation, ‘Lolly Willowes‘ continues to captivate readers a hundred years after its publication.
This talk will examine the novel’s literary legacy, its cultural significance, and the reasons why Warner’s remarkable heroine still speaks so powerfully to modern audiences.
About Mark Damon Chutter
Mark Damon Chutter is the Chairman and Academic Director of the Thomas Hardy Society. He has published papers in the Thomas Hardy Journal and for the Times Educational Supplement (TES). He has been teaching for over 30 years as a Drama and English specialist and was shortlisted for the TES’s ‘Most Innovative Teacher of the Year’ and ‘Teacher of the Year’ awards.
Mark’s interest and scholarship in Hardy started when he was a teenager as his Grandmother lived in Fordington Old Vicarage – the former residence of the Moule family .
