**Disclaimer: This novel was written in 1926, and it's been sufficiently spoiled by many others who have discussed it. Regardless, I should warn you of the many spoilers in this post.**
I've had Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner, published in 1926, on my to-read list for three years now. Here's the oversimplified premise: An unmarried woman sells her soul to the devil. That was all I needed to know, and I was sold. I have trouble motivating myself to slog through classics, but this one sounded worth it; if Satan himself is a character in the novel, it's probably worth the trouble. I was also drawn to the novel because I love a spinster witch. I wish I could now provide you with a brief history of the spinster witch character in fiction, but I don't know enough, and a quick Google search landed me nowhere, aside from this t-shirt. What I know for sure is that witches/occultists and spinsters noticeably overlap with one another, both in fiction and nonfiction, and I also know for sure that I feel deeply connected to the spinster witch construct. I do find it a bit troubling, because I know that it is sometimes used to stigmatize unmarried women, but it is empowering when claimed or reclaimed or just framed in a positive light. (I should also mention that it's funny. I, a self-identified spinster and a single woman, am tempted to tell every person who asks me if I have a partner that I am in a committed relationship with Satan.)
