Sylvia Townsend Warner was an English musicologist, novelist, and poet. Her debut novel, Lolly Willowes, was published in 1926. Her focus was subverting societal norms, and her work heavily rejects the Church and embraces female empowerment and independence. Her romantic relationship with fellow poet Valentine Ackland influenced her own writing, and they collaborated on the collection Whether a Dove or a Seagull in 1933. The two were active in the Communist Party, and Marxist ideals appear in Warner's later works.