Lolly Willowes
#7863.68 adjusted 3.70 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1926 Reading commitment Low Sylvia Townsend Warner Last reviewed 2026-09-25
Overview
Sylvia Townsend Warner's 1926 debut novel follows Laura Willowes, who spends twenty years as the dutiful unmarried aunt in her brother's London household before moving alone to the Chiltern village of Great Mop — where she finds her true vocation as a witch. A satirical, quietly subversive early feminist fantasy, it was the first-ever selection of the American Book-of-the-Month Club.
Comic fantasy, Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Lolly Willowes (1926) core · 3.68 (14,846 ratings); After twenty years as the unmarried aunt in her brother's London household, Laura Willowes moves alone to a Chiltern village, where she discovers her vocation as a witch and a strange bargain with the Devil.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Lolly Willowes? Lolly Willowes's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Lolly Willowes finished? Complete (1926).
- How much reading does Lolly Willowes take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~222 pages).
- How is Lolly Willowes ranked? #786 in this site's official ranking, based on 14,846 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #786?
Ranked #786 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.68 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (14,846 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #785, Our Lady of Darkness (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 15k ratings · Ranks #786 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment comic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Prix Femina–Vie Heureuse (English novel), 1927: finalist: Lolly Willowes; Shortlisted as one of the three English novels sent to the French committee; the 1927 prize went to Radclyffe Hall's Adam's Breed.
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Suggestions computed from what Lolly Willowes and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.81
- Waking the Moon Dark fantasy / Urban fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.81
- Conjure Wife Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.79
- Even Though I Knew the End Dark fantasy / Urban fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.79
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.68 across 14,846 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: Lolly Willowes (Sylvia Townsend Warner) accepted 2026-09-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-25
Rule: Core Canon = Lolly Willowes (1926) only, standalone.