A Spirit Rises

(Paperback, Main)

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The original U.S. blurb says it well, '. . .But some readers consider her short stories the best vehicle for her impeccable craftsmanship, her peerless ability to sketch in a few deft lines a man or woman in a brief moment of destiny - tragic, comic, absurd or moving. These fourteen new stories are once again evidence of her wit and irony, her grace and poise.' Locum Tenens; The Fifth of November; A Question of Disposal; Barnby Robinson; In a Shaken House; The Old Nun; Randolph; On Living for Others; A Dressmaker; A Spirit Rises; The Snow Guest; During a Winter Night; A Work of Art. makes the dedication to William Maxwell all the more appropriate. A Spirit Rises is one of four collections of Sylvia Townsend Warner's short stories that Faber Finds are reissuing: Winter in the Air; A Spirit Rises; A Stranger with a Bag; Scenes of Childhood. always, comes up to scratch with the sheer caress of her style. The stories in A Spirit Rises, private, utterly leisured, are like charades played by angels - albeit rather sardonic ones, and in a slightly unreal hothouse. The choice and rhythm of her words are not to be wolfed; be patient, keep the mind free to wander on a quickening phrase or a squint of humour.' David Hughes, Sunday Times

Author Bio

Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893-1978) was a poet, novelist, journalist and musicologist. She grew up in Devonshire and was home-schooled for her rebellious behaviour. After World War II disrupted her musical studies, she moved to London to work in a munitions factory. With her partner Valentine Ackland, whom she lived with from 1930 until her death, Warner was active in the Communist Party in the fight against fascism and served in the Red Cross during the Spanish Civil War. She wrote her acclaimed debut, Lolly Willowes, in 1926, followed by six more novels - Mr Fortune's Maggot, The True Heart, Summer Will Show, After the Death of Don Juan, The Corner That Held Them, and The Flint Anchor - and hundreds of stories and political articles.