As Chair of the Sylvia Townsend Warner Society, Jan Montefiore has led the way to rescuing Sylvia Townsend Warner from the near oblivion that descended on her works in the last century. Not only has Jan published some of the finest essays on Warner’s writing and compiled an indispensable bibliography of the critical literature, but she’s given oomph and purpose to the Sylvia Townsend Warner Society during her long service as its Chair. What stands out about Jan’s leadership is her generosity to fellow scholars and particularly to the younger generation of Warner enthusiasts. Despite exhausting demands on her time, both academic and domestic, Jan has given her all to encouraging younger scholars to participate in the Society and contribute to its journal. Her mentorship has proved invaluable because of her own outstanding gifts as a scholar and critic. A subtle and discerning reader, Jan is also an elegant writer whose books and essays are lucid, captivating, and often brilliantly funny. Blessed with a seemingly photographic memory, she shows a command of modern history and culture that few scholars could hope to emulate. Her scrupulous historical sense, combined with her sensitivity to what William Empson called the “echoes and recesses” of literary language, makes her an ideal critic for Warner’s intertextual works and endows her scholarship with lasting power. As Chair of the Society, she’s a very hard act to follow, and we can only thank her for her inspiring leadership and dedication.
Maud Ellman