The Corner That Held Them

(Paperback)

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Description

A masterpiece of historical fiction, The Corner That Held Them depicts the lives of medieval nuns amid the turmoil of rebellion and the Black Death Sylvia Townsend Warner's portrayal of a fourteenth-entury nunnery is widely considered to be one of the greatest historical novels of all time. An often hilarious ode to community living, it is also a poignant, delicate exploration of spirituality's relationship to the material world.

Reviews

A classic, whose resonance deepens inside the reader in proportion to its austere, luminous discretion. Also, as it happens, a work of high, frequent comedy. As an act of imagined history this novel has few rivals * The Times Literary Supplement *
A spellbinding piece of historical fiction-spare, luminous. . . . One starts rereading as soon as one has reached the last page * The Sunday Times *
A magnificent recreation of the life of a medieval convent * The Daily Telegraph *

Author Bio

Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893-1978) grew up in rural Devonshire before moving to London and writing her debut novel, Lolly Willowes (1926). With her partner Valentine Ackland, she was active in the Communist Party and served in the Red Cross during the Spanish Civil War. Her novels include 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.