1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,200 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,920 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: show that flips through the pages of history to deliver 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 1: old news in a new way. I'm Gabelusier, and today 5 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: we're taking a closer look at the inaugural selection of 6 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: the Book of the Month Club. It's a bold and 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: subversive novel about escaping the constraints of expectation and fair warning, 8 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: there are spoilers ahead. The day was March tenth, nineteen 9 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: twenty six. Sylvia Townsend Warner's debut novel, Lolly Willows was 10 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 1: published by Viking Press. The British author received quite a 11 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: shock one month later when her novel was announced as 12 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: the first ever selection of the newly minted Book of 13 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: the Month Club. It was an unexpected choice, not only 14 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: because Warner was an unknown author, but because the subject 15 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,479 Speaker 1: matter of her book was rather unconventional for the era. 16 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:14,119 Speaker 1: The novel's full title is Lolly Willows or the Loving Huntsman, 17 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: and it's basically a satirical comedy of manners about escaping 18 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: the patriarchy, befriending the devil, and becoming a witch. The 19 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: story is centered on an unmarried middle aged woman named 20 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: Laura Willows and her quest for personal freedom. After spending 21 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: twenty years as the live in aunt to her brother's children, 22 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: Laura feels suffocated by the expectations of her family and 23 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: of society at large. To them, she is an old maid, 24 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,680 Speaker 1: someone who has been rescued from the shame of being alone, 25 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: and must now earn her keep through the endless toil 26 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: of housekeeping and childcare around the house. The family calls 27 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: her Aunt Lolly, a mispronunciation of Aunt Laura, which was 28 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: coined by her young niece and then opted by everyone else. 29 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: To Laura, the cutesye name becomes a symbol of her 30 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: subservient status. The Laura Willows of her youth is gone. 31 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:14,520 Speaker 1: Now there is only Aunt Lollie. However, at age forty seven, 32 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: something inside Laura snaps. She finds herself dreaming of a 33 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: new life and a place she's never been, and decides 34 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 1: on pure impulse to move to the small country village 35 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: of Great Mop. Her extended family is of course against 36 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: the idea, but Laura is determined at last to act 37 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: in her own interest. She leaves London, rents a cottage 38 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: and begins wandering the countryside in search of something unknown 39 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: that seems to be calling out to her. Unfortunately, her 40 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,080 Speaker 1: search is interrupted when her nephew Titus decides to join 41 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: her in Great mop Although he means well, Titus's presence 42 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: begins to alienate Laura from herself and from her new surroundings. 43 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: With a family member and such close pity, she starts 44 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: to fall back into her old role as Aunt Lolly. 45 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: Feeling stifled all over again, she goes for a walk 46 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: in the forest one evening and cries out for help. 47 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: She begs to be released from her duties, from the 48 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: expectations of people who love her but don't really know her. 49 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: In the moments that follow, she feels ananimate power in 50 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: her midst a silent force that makes her feel as 51 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: if quote surely a compact had been made and the 52 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: pledge irrevocably given. In the days ahead, Laura's suspicion is 53 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: soon confirmed. She has made a deal with the devil 54 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: and is now a witch in training. The prospect doesn't 55 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: scare her, though, in fact, it makes her feel safe 56 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 1: and at peace. She envisions Satan as a loving huntsman, 57 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: someone who seeks out lost souls like herself, not to 58 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: devour them, but to liberate them. It doesn't take long 59 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: for the spell to work its magic and quick succession. 60 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 1: Titus is plagued by everything from spoiled milk to writer's 61 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: block to swarms of flies, bats, and stinging wasps. Finally, 62 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: the nephew decides to leave Great Mop altogether, freeing his 63 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: aunt once more from familial obligations. The book ends with 64 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,840 Speaker 1: Laura and Satan on a hillside, enjoying a nice long talk. 65 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: He asks nothing of her, because for him, the chase 66 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: is everything. Once a target submits, he leaves at b 67 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: and moves on to his next pursuit. So even though 68 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: Laura has sold her soul, she now feels more ownership 69 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: of it than ever before. As she tells her loving 70 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: Huntsman quote, one doesn't become a witch to run around 71 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: being harmful, or to run around being helpful, either a 72 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: district visitor on a broomstick. It's to escape all that, 73 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,480 Speaker 1: to have a life of one's own, not an existence 74 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,479 Speaker 1: doled out by others. Charitable refuse of their thoughts, so 75 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 1: many ounces of stale bread of life a day. Instead, 76 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: she argues, women become witches quote to show our scorn 77 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 1: of pretending life's a safe business to satisfy our passion 78 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: for adventure. In Warner's novel, Witchcraft represents something that sits 79 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,719 Speaker 1: outside of the binary of good and evil. It's the 80 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: space and freedom to be one's self without worry or 81 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 1: regard for other people's hang ups, a necessity for personal 82 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 1: development that is often denied to women, whether intentionally or not. 83 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: Warner was in her early thirties when she wrote Lolly Willows. 84 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: She was on her way to becoming a musicologist at 85 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:40,919 Speaker 1: the time, but was known to dabble in poetry and 86 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: fiction writing whenever she came across a piece of paper 87 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 1: with a quote particularly tempting surface. That happened increasingly often 88 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: in the nineteen twenties, when Warner served as an editor 89 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,679 Speaker 1: for an ongoing musicology project. In the course of her duties, 90 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: she helped collect and edit a ten volume work composed 91 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: most of Elizabethan church music, which until then had only 92 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: existed in handwritten form. The project often provided her with 93 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: leftover pieces of smooth, heavy manuscript paper, perfect for scribbling 94 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 1: down a poem or short story. One day, Warner happened 95 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: upon a quote very agreeable, thin lined paper, onto which 96 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 1: she began to pen the story of a contemporary witch. 97 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,600 Speaker 1: One line led me to another, she later explained, one 98 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: smooth page to the next. The finished book was quickly 99 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: accepted for publication, establishing what Warner described as her accidental career. 100 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: One of the earliest milestones in that fifty year long 101 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: accident was her novel becoming the inaugural selection of the 102 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: Book of the Month Club. Still active today, the club 103 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: is now the longest running book subscription service in the 104 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: United States. In nineteen twenty six, though it was the 105 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: unproven business venture of an advertising copywriter named Harry shirt 106 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: he conceived of the club as a way to save 107 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:06,559 Speaker 1: readers both time and money. Instead of taking a chance 108 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 1: on an expensive book that might not be very good, 109 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: customers could join the club and receive an affordable copy 110 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:17,119 Speaker 1: of a carefully chosen book each month. Sherman had long 111 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: term plans for the club, believing it could become a 112 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: brand unto itself. He later explained his intentions saying, quote, 113 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,800 Speaker 1: the club establishes itself as a sound selector of good 114 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: books and sells by means of its own prestige. Thus, 115 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: the prestige of each new title need not be built 116 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: up in advance before becoming acceptable. To meet this goal, 117 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: Sherman assembled a panel of judges to select the books 118 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: that would be sent out to all the club's members. 119 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: The committee's first selection was Warner's recently published first novel, 120 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: Lolly Willows. In April of nineteen twenty six, a special 121 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: hardcover copy of the book, printed on cheaper paper, was 122 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: dispatched to each of the club's four thousand or so members. 123 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: When asked about it later, Warner said, quote, I was astonished, delighted, 124 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: and confident that any organization daring enough to pick an 125 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 1: unknown author would be a valuable asset to contemporary literature. 126 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: The club's selection committee may have been daring, but its 127 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:25,240 Speaker 1: members apparently were not. Many readers expressed disapproval of the novel, 128 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 1: finding a defensive, salacious, or even blasphemous. Imagine then, how 129 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: much more scandalized they would have been if they'd also 130 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: known the author was bisexual. The fact didn't become publicly 131 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: known until a few years later, when Warner was introduced 132 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: to the love of her life, an English poet named 133 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:48,719 Speaker 1: Valentine Acland. Although their relationship was tumultuous at times, they 134 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: stayed together for thirty nine years until Valentine's death in 135 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty nine. Would members of the Book of the 136 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: Month Club have liked Lolly Willows more if they'd known 137 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 1: it was written by a queer author. Probably not, but 138 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,200 Speaker 1: for more open minded readers it adds another layer of 139 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: contexts to the book's themes, including the subversion of societal 140 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: norms and the need for women's empowerment. Warner's chilly reception 141 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 1: by the Book of the Month Club did install her 142 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 1: career in the slightest. She went on to publish one 143 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 1: hundred and forty four short stories in The New Yorker 144 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 1: and wrote six more novels, all of which were filled 145 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: with what she called quote the oddness of the world 146 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: and the surprisingness of mankind. She also wrote several volumes 147 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: of poetry, including one co authored with her partner. In addition, 148 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: Warner translated the work of Marcel Proust and wrote a 149 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: biography of the novelist THH. White. After a long and 150 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: productive life, Sylvia Townsend Warner passed away at her home 151 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,839 Speaker 1: in Dorset, England, on May first, nineteen seventy eight, at 152 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: the age of eighty four. As for the Book of 153 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: the Month Club, it eventually became the prestige brand that 154 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: Sherman had envisioned, and boasted one and a half million 155 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 1: subscribers at its peak in nineteen eighty eight. Over time, though, 156 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: the advent of the internets and big chain bookstores sent 157 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: the club into decline. It's shut down completely in twenty fourteen, 158 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,680 Speaker 1: but was relaunched a year later and is still going 159 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: strong today. In its latest incarnation, the Book of the 160 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:25,960 Speaker 1: Month Club no longer bills itself as a prestige brand, 161 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 1: but simply as a quote, fun and reliable way to 162 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: learn about new releases. The club hasn't completely forgotten its roots, though. 163 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:37,959 Speaker 1: In twenty sixteen, it launched a new Book of the 164 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:45,120 Speaker 1: Year award, named, fittingly enough, the Lali. I'm Gabe Bluesier 165 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 166 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. You can learn even more 167 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:55,359 Speaker 1: about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram 168 00:10:55,640 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: at TDI HC Show, and if you have any comments 169 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,679 Speaker 1: or suggestions, feel free to send them my way by 170 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:06,839 Speaker 1: writing to this day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to 171 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,920 Speaker 1: Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank you for listening. 172 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again soon for another day 173 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 1: in history class.