Book description
The 20 stories in this collection, which have been freshly assembled
from Sylvia Townsend Warner's archives, have never before been
published in book form. They are, therefore, an exceptional and wholly
unexpected treasure trove.
In these stories the author of the classic Lolly Willowes is at her
most witty and beguiling. Written over five decades, from 1929 to
1977, they are crowded with vivid, irrepressible characters - from the
nymph hunting chorister to the garrulous mother warding off her
daughter's unwanted suitors - and equally animated objects and
incidents. There are tales of romantic love, of the mysteries of
marriage, of gardens and houses, of possessions and those that fancy
they own them. The centerpiece of the collection is a series of five
linked episodes concerning one singular establishment, the Abbey
Antique Galleries, its eccentric proprietor, Mr Edom and his erratic
staff, clientele and wares.
With a foreword by William Maxwell, her long time editor at the
New Yorker, and edited by Michael Steinman, The Music at
Long Verney is both an important supplement to Sylvia Townsend
Warner's legacy and the perfect introduction to her light wit and spry
social observation.
Sylvia Townsend Warner was born at Harrow-on-the-Hill in London in
1893. Her first novel, Lolly Willowes (1926) brought her instant
recognition and succes, but she is best known for her short stories,
some 150 of which were published in the New Yorker between 1936 and
1977. Her works included seven novels, 14 collections of stories, a
volume of poems and a biography of T. H. White. She died in 1978 in the
village of Maiden Newton in Dorset.
