Living Alone

In Short

Written during the First World War, this enchanted satire follows Sarah Brown, an ailing, deaf, and hyper-self-conscious young woman who wanders away from committee work in London into the House of Living Alone. Situated on Mitten Island, the refuge is run by a nameless witch who offers shelter to solitary souls. As war rages in the trenches and bombs fall from the sky, Sarah, the witch, and an eccentric cast of mortals and magical beings navigate air raids, faery farms, and invisible encounters. It endures as a delicate, razor-sharp defense of inner solitude.

The Story

The narrative begins in a dismal London committee room where well-meaning citizens gather to manage war-relief efforts. Among them is Sarah Brown, a delicate, painfully self-aware woman who suffers from chronic illness and deafness. Their dry proceedings are interrupted by a nameless Stranger—a witch—who effortlessly brings a breath of magical spring into the room before leaving behind her broomstick. Sarah, intrigued and desperately in need of a quiet sanctuary, seeks out this magical creature.

Her search leads her across the river to Mitten Island, home to the House of Living Alone. The house is a magical dwelling designed specifically for those who choose or need to live apart from the world; its prospectus demands that residents spend eighteen hours a day in complete solitude and explicitly forbids modern comforts or payment. Here, Sarah encounters the witch's quiet sorcery, which uses magic not for grand grandiosity but as a gentle ingredient for human happiness and forgetfulness.

War, however, cannot be entirely locked out. The narrative moves between the earthly distress of London and the unearthly realm above it. During an air raid, the witch mounts her broomstick, Harold, and flies up into the clouds. Above the burning city, she encounters a German witch riding her own magic mount. Instead of battling, the two engage in an extraordinary dialogue about the absurdity of destruction, observing that dropping bombs on homes kills only youth and domestic kindness rather than abstract evil.

Meanwhile, back on earth, Sarah's journeys lead her through uncanny landscapes, including the Faery Farm, where she attempts to perform manual labor alongside indifferent, immortal fairies who feel no pain and possess no souls. There she encounters Richard, a magical, dream-like soldier son of the aristocratic Lady Arabel, who flits between the front lines and the magical realm, yearning for a quietude deeper than the roar of guns.

As chaos mounts in the witch’s dwelling—culminating in an accidental spell that renders the local Mayor invisible and ignites the house—Sarah takes matters into her own hands. Believing she is rescuing the witch from the encroachment of worldly affairs, she uses magical passports to board a ship to America, taking the witch and her loyal dog David along. But upon arrival in New York, the witch gently rejects human companionship and modern un-magic. Bidding Sarah farewell, the witch mounts Harold, pauses briefly on the Statue of Liberty to peer into its eye, and flies back toward her parish of Faery. Sarah steps off the boat alone, realizing that her true home is not a physical building, but the boundless internal sanctuary of her own soul.

How It Unfolds

Magic interrupts the mundane A mysterious witch crashes a dull London war-relief committee meeting, scattering paper magic packets and leaving her broomstick behind. Sarah Brown, intrigued by the strange display of spring, resolves to find the strange woman.

The threshold of solitude Sarah travels to Mitten Island to visit the House of Living Alone, a free refuge for lonely souls. She learns how the witch crafts magic to bring people happiness and subtle comfort.

Skyward over the blitz While Londoners shelter in crypts below, the witch rides her broomstick into the clouds during a bombing raid. High above the city, she converses with a German witch, lamenting that war destroys youth rather than evil.

Trial at the faery farm Struggling with her physical frailties, Sarah tries to hoe rows of crop at a magical farm. Soulless fairies treat her suffering with complete indifference while a friendly dragon offers vague encouragement.

A night of unravelling A chaotic gathering at the Shop results in a misplaced spell that turns the local Mayor entirely invisible. Realizing the physical shelter is falling apart, Sarah procures magical blank passports to flee the country.

The final parting Sarah travels across the Atlantic with the witch, only for her companion to fly away back to her faery island. Left alone on the docks of New York, Sarah embraces her ultimate independence.

The People

• Sarah Brown: A deaf, physically frail woman who is hyper-aware of her own inner thoughts and desperately insecure about her worth. She wants to find a peaceful sanctuary away from the crushing demands of human society, eventually discovering that her solitude is an inner fortress rather than a physical space.
• The Witch: A nameless, highly practical magical being who runs the House of Living Alone. She wants to distribute simple happiness to tired humans and keep her magical affairs quiet, ending up completely untamed and free to return to her faery parish.
• Richard (Rrchud): The eccentric soldier son of Lady Arabel who drifts helplessly between the army trenches and the realm of magic. He longs for absolute silence and beauty over the violent noise of war, remaining an elusive, dream-like figure who disappears into the moonlight.
• Lady Arabel: A well-meaning, tearful aristocratic woman bewildered by her son's strangeness. She wants desperately to believe her son is a normal boy serving his country, yet constantly comes face to face with his deeply magical nature.

In Its Own Voice

"Magic is a disconcerting travelling companion. While seldom actually conspicuous, it seems to have a mysterious and varying effect on the surrounding public."

The witch embarks on an ethereal flight above a darkened city, illustrating how magic effortlessly infiltrates the rigid reality of wartime London.

"Fairies are never ill. They have immortal bodies, but no souls. If they see you in pain, they simply think you are flaunting your superiority and your immortal soul in their faces."

Sarah Brown discovers the cold nature of the supernatural creatures at the farm, highlighting the vast divide between immortal magic and human vulnerability.

"Did you think you had destroyed the House of Living Alone? Did you think you could escape from it?"

The witch speaks her final words of wisdom to Sarah before flying away, reminding her that true solitude is an inescapable, magnificent internal home.

What It's Really About

Beneath its whimsical surface of broomsticks, invisible mayors, and chatty dragons, the book is a poignant exploration of selfhood, isolation, and the trauma of wartime existence. It contrasts the absurd rigidity of human bureaucracy and military violence with the wild, indifferent freedom of magic. The narrative argues that solitude is not merely a miserable state to be cured by society, but a vital, sacred space necessary for self-preservation. Physical illness and social awkwardness isolate Sarah, yet her journey reveals that the inner world is far vaster than the outward environment. It asks how an overly sensitive, wounded individual can survive in a noisy world bent on destruction, finding its answer in the quiet dignity of living alone within one's own mind.

Why Read It Today

This novel will deeply resonate with readers who appreciate eccentric, bittersweet fantasies that blend real-world sharp observation with surreal imagination, reminiscent of Sylvia Townsend Warner or T.H. White. Its prose is remarkably modern—witty, dry, and rich with startling visual metaphors. The reading experience feels like stepping into a cold, clear night where every mundane object glints with unexpected magic.

Readers should be prepared for its unique episodic rhythm and period quirks; it does not follow a traditional, plot-heavy narrative line, but rather drifts like a dream from one satirical vignette to the next. Written in the shadow of the First World War, it carries a thread of genuine grief and physical weariness alongside its absurd humor. What stays with you long after the final page is its tender, uncompromising defense of the introverts, the dreamers, and the hopelessly solitary souls of the world.