Lolly Willowes

Lolly Willowes is a satirical comedy of manners incorporating elements of fantasy. It is the story of a middle-aged spinster who moves to a country village to escape her controlling relatives and takes up the practice of witchcraft. The novel opens at the turn of the twentieth century, with Laura Willowes moving from Somerset to London to live with her brother Henry and his family. The move comes in the wake of the death of Laura''s father, Everard, with whom she lived at the family home, Lady Place. Laura''s other brother, James, moves into Lady Place with his wife and his young son, Titus, with the intention to continue the family''s brewing business. However, James dies suddenly of a heart attack and Lady Place is rented out, with the view that Titus, once grown up, will return to the home and run the business.

After twenty years of being a live-in aunt, Laura finds herself feeling increasingly stifled