Sylvia Townsend Warner Criticism
Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893–1978) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and biographer whose diverse body of work explores complex themes such as human nature, the intersection of art and life, and the distinction between appearance and reality. Her literary output is marked by a blend of fantasy and realism, notably establishing a distinctive narrative style in her debut novel, Lolly Willowes. This novel, discussed by Bruce Knoll, follows a spinster who rebels against societal norms by becoming a witch, addressing feminist themes. Warner's storytelling often provides a satirical critique of human behavior, as seen in her later fantasy works such as Kingdoms of Elfin, where she uses fairy tale conventions to critique societal norms, as examined by Robert Crossley and Gabriele Annan.
Warner's short fiction is particularly notable for its empathetic portrayal of marginalized characters and its sharp social critique. Her collections, including A Garland of Straw and The Museum of Cheats, address themes such as anti-Semitism, the effects of war, and the personal betrayals endured by women. These works have been praised by critics like The Times Literary Supplement, Diana Trilling, James Hilton, and Eunice S. Holsaert. Although her stories have not received as much scholarly attention as her novels, they are respected for their stylistic skill and insightful social commentary, as highlighted by Jonathan Yardley and Eleanor Perényi.
Her later works, particularly those published in The New Yorker, continue to be celebrated for their sharp wit and economical style. Critics such as John Updike note the "stony air of mastery" in her narratives, offering a unique voice among her contemporaries. Warner's poetry, though not as central to her career, has not gone unnoticed. Works like Twelve Poems are praised for their vivid imagery and emotional depth, with commendations from Vicki Feaver and Gavin Ewart. Through her literary contributions, Warner captures the ethereal beauty and inherent melancholy of her subjects, a quality that remains influential, as noted by W. J. Strachan and William Jay Smith.
Contents
- Principal Works
- Warner, Sylvia Townsend (Vol. 7)
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Warner, Sylvia Townsend (Vol. 19)
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The Not So Little People
(summary)
In the following essay, Gabriele Annan discusses Sylvia Townsend Warner's Kingdoms of Elfin, highlighting its witty use of fairy story conventions to critique accepted thinking, while noting its poetic nature and rational humor that turns the supernatural into a commentary against religion and superstition.
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Long Looks at the Little People
(summary)
In the following essay, Paul Gray examines Sylvia Townsend Warner's Kingdoms of Elfin, highlighting her unique portrayal of fairies as complex, ethereal beings who ironically reflect human traits, while her prose captures the beauty and melancholy of fairy existence.
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Kingdoms of Elfin
(summary)
In the following essay, William Jay Smith celebrates Sylvia Townsend Warner's "Kingdoms of Elfin" for its originality, wit, and intricate blend of myth with reality, while acknowledging the stories' potential divisiveness due to their artifice and aphoristic style, ultimately suggesting they represent the work of a wise and talented writer.
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Jake and Lolly Opt Out
(summary)
In the following essay, John Updike argues that Sylvia Townsend Warner's literary career, characterized by her evocative prose and supernatural themes, deserves greater recognition, highlighting her novel "Lolly Willowes" as an exemplar of her integration of nature and witchcraft within mundane reality.
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Sylvia Townsend Warner: A Memoir
(summary)
In the following essay, W. J. Strachan explores the imaginative and diverse literary contributions of Sylvia Townsend Warner, highlighting her fusion of fantasy with realism, her unique narrative style, and her insightful portrayal of historical themes, exemplified in works like Lolly Willowes and The Corner that held them.
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Fetched from the Dark
(summary)
In the following essay, Vicki Feaver examines Sylvia Townsend Warner's Twelve Poems, highlighting themes of old age, death, and the afterlife, and noting the emotional resonance and vivid imagery Warner employs to explore these subjects.
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English Poetry: 'Twelve Poems'
(summary)
In the following essay, Gavin Ewart critiques Sylvia Townsend Warner's Twelve Poems as a poignant reflection of her literary prowess, highlighting themes of history, tradition, and mortality, while praising the individual voice and craftsmanship found in poems like 'Graveyard in Norfolk.'
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The Not So Little People
(summary)
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Warner, Sylvia Townsend (Short Story Criticism)
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Catabasis
(summary)
In the following review, Southron claims that in The Cat's Cradle Warner is "at her most beguiling best."
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A review of A Garland of Straw
(summary)
The critic offers a mixed assessment of the stories in A Garland of Straw.
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A Garland of Straw
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Trilling claims Warner is "an accomplished practitioner of her craft," but finds fault with artistic practices of the generation of writers to which Warner belongs.
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Stories to Be Long Remembered: Sylvia Townsend Warner, a Deceptively Blithe Spirit
(summary)
In the following review, Hilton praises The Museum of Cheats, adding that, to fully enjoy the stories, "one must listen as well as read."
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Tidbits in Acid
(summary)
In the review below, Holsaert gives a favorable assessment of the stories in The Museum of Cheats, saying that Warner's "skilled guidance" allows ordinary characters to be "unexpectedly entertaining."
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A review of Winter in the Air, and Other Stories
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Jennings finds that the stories in Winter in the Air reflect Warner's perceptivity about people and her strong sense of place.
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Brief, Poetic, Probing Stories
(summary)
In the following review, Hay praises Winter in the Air, and Other Stories, calling it 'rewarding and stimulating.'
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Humor and Irony
(summary)
In the following review, Rainer acknowledges Warner's technical skills but finds Winter in the Air, and Other Stories lacking in imagination.
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News from Mojave
(summary)
In the following excerpt from a review of Winter in the Air, Arrowsmith describes Warner as being "an almost flawless writer" within a narrow range of fiction.
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Stories with Mood and a Sense of Place
(summary)
In the following review of A Spirit Rises, Faverty appreciates Warner's ability to create an atmosphere in which the elements of her story seem believable.
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The Indecisive Denouement
(summary)
In the following review, Burnett pronounces Warner's style in the stories of A Spirit Rises lucid and graceful.
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A review of Swans on an Autumn River
(summary)
In the following review, which was originally published in The New Republic in 1966, Updike comments on the 'genius' of Warner's writing.
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A review of The Innocent and the Guilty
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Long comments on the "sophistication" and "imagination" of Warner's stories in The Innocent and the Guilty. Sylvia Townsend Warner, who is now in her late seventies, has had a long, distinguished career. Her stories practically glisten with craftsmanship, and her imagination has a quality of urbanity that is present in all the tales in The Innocent and the Guilty, regardless of how different the scenes and characters are.
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Sylvia Townsend Warner: 1893-1978: A Celebration
(summary)
In the following interview, Sylvia Townsend Warner, with Val Warner and Michael Schmidt, reflects on her writing career, political activism, and influences, revealing how her experiences and beliefs shaped her literary works, particularly her engagement with Communism and anarchism, and her move towards writing fantasy and politically oriented narratives.
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The Not So Little People
(summary)
In this review, Annan describes Warner's prose as 'poetic and mystical.' The stories in Kingdoms of Elfin really are fairy stories, and fourteen of the sixteen have appeared in The New Yorker. The elfin kingdoms over or underlie Europe, and their inhabitants share the traditionally accepted characteristics of their human counterparts. Annan suggests that the whole book is an attack on accepted thinking.
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A review of Kingdoms of Elfin
(summary)
In the following review, Smith says that while Warner is dextrous and sharp in her presentation of the elfin world to the reader, behind it all "the reader senses the author's fundamental skepticism."
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Your Elf
(summary)
In the following excerpt from a review of The Kingdoms of Elfin, Williams praises Warner's prose as "a delight."
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The Short Stories
(summary)
In the following essay, Cavaliero lauds Warner's literary skill and "ability to celebrate the singular without declining into singularity."
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One Thing Leading to Another, and Other Stories
(summary)
In the following review, Toulson calls One Thing Leading to Another, and Other Stories 'a good collection' that includes some characters who showcase Warner 'at her sharpest and funniest.'
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Witty and Well-Mannered
(summary)
In the following review, Duchêne describes Warner's prose as "witty, warmhearted, [and] well-mannered," but questions the selection and editing of the stories in One Thing Leading to Another.
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A Long Day's Dying: The Elves of J. R. R. Tolkien and Sylvia Townsend Warner
(summary)
In the excerpt below, Crossley compares the elfin worlds of Warner and J. R. R. Tolkien.
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Writing against the Grain: Sylvia Townsend Warner and the Spanish Civil War
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Brothers examines Warner's contributions to the body of literature inspired by the Spanish Civil War.
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Catabasis
(summary)
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Warner, Sylvia Townsend (Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism)
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What It Was Like
(summary)
In the following excerpted review, Howard contends that “though the individual pieces in Scenes of Childhood are charming, bright, and well-turned, I think that book as a whole does Miss Warner's memory a disservice.”
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Barricades and Gardens
(summary)
In the following review, Davis notes an uneven quality in the sketches in Scenes of Childhood and reflects on her meeting with the author.
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Making a Stand against Habit
(summary)
In the following review, Feaver considers Warner's poetic output, contending that “more real cause of regret, however, considering the strangely compelling quality of her best work, is that poetry was for most of her life a peripheral and not a major concern.”
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The Wise Woman of Dorset
(summary)
In the following review, Howard provides a positive review of Warner's collected letters and poetry and addresses the lack of critical attention to her oeuvre.
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All Things Both Great and Small
(summary)
In the following review, Panter-Downes offers a laudatory review of Warner's collected letters as well as an overview of the author's life and work.
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The Good Witch of the West
(summary)
In the following review, Perényi asserts that Warner's work is difficult to categorize and has resulted in a lack of sufficient critical attention to her oeuvre.
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The English Short Story, 1945-1950
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Vannatta provides a positive assessment of The Museum of Cheats. Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893-1978) should best be remembered as a short story writer, although she was a prolific writer who produced, in addition to twelve volumes of short stories, novels, poetry, biographies, and authoritative studies of Tudor church music. Warner was already fairly well known to some American readers when The Museum of Cheats appeared in 1947. Eight of the stories in this volume had, in fact, appeared previously in the pages of the New Yorker, another reminder of that magazine's contribution as an international outlet for superior short fiction.
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The English Short Story in the Fifties
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Vannatta deems Warner's short fiction pure and economical.
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Of Love's Fortunes and Misfortunes
(summary)
In the following favorable review of Selected Stories, Yardley maintains that however diverse Warner's stories may be in tone and settings, her stories are all noteworthy for their graceful, witty prose and their tough, uncompromising intelligence.
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Sylvia: The Novels of the 1930s
(summary)
In the following essay, Mulford traces Warner's literary development throughout the 1930s.
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Sylvia Townsend Warner and the Counterplot of Lesbian Fiction
(summary)
In the following essay, Castle discusses Warner's Summer Will Show as a lesbian novel.
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‘An Existence Doled Out’: Passive Resistance as a Dead End in Sylvia Townsend Warner's Lolly Willowes
(summary)
In the following essay, Knoll perceives Lolly Willowes as a novel that explores the dualism between male aggression and female passivity. Townsend Warner begins with her first novel, Lolly Willowes, or The Loving Huntsman, written in 1926, to break down the dualism between aggressiveness and passivity. This dualism is couched in terms of a masculine versus a feminine approach to life, neither of which Townsend Warner accepts, because the masculine/feminine opposition in the novel is a creation of patriarchal society. Townsend Warner does not accept this as the only possible social organization, and through Laura Willowes, her protagonist, she works out a solution which is neither a feminine passivity nor a masculine aggressiveness, but an assertiveness that falls between the two extremes. This is Townsend Warner's own feminist response. In the context of Lolly Willowes it leads to the formation of a new dialectic, of which the outcome is separatism.
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A review of The Diaries of Sylvia Townsend Warner
(summary)
In the following review, Chisholm offers a favorable review of The Diaries of Sylvia Townsend Warner.
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Breeding
(summary)
In the following review, Kermode notes the insights that Warner's diaries provide into her life.
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The Elements of Lavishness: Letters of Sylvia Townsend Warner and William Maxwell, 1938-1978
(summary)
In the following essay, Steinman considers The Elements of Lavishness a testament to the true friendship between Warner and editor William Maxwell.
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What It Was Like
(summary)
- Further Reading