Living Alone

by Stella Benson

"Living Alone" by Stella Benson is a novel written in the early 20th century. The book explores themes of individuality and the eccentricities of social committees in wartime London, blending elements of magic and whimsicality. The opening introduces a peculiar assembly of women on a committee tasked with war savings, where a chaotic stranger emerges, shaking up their structured lives with her unconventional ideas. At the start of the story, we are introduced to a committee meeting that is disrupted by the entrance of a young woman referred to as the Stranger, who crawls under the table. As she introduces herself and her motivations, the members react with a mix of intrigue and judgment, reflecting the rigid nature of their committee work. The Stranger’s free-spirited nature and her whimsical complaint about the state of her life create a stark contrast to the serious tone of the meeting. Her claims about having "squandered" a large amount of money in a single day reveal an underlying critique of societal expectations during the war. This initial interaction sets the stage for a narrative that blends magic and reality as it delves into the lives of women struggling against societal norms and the search for genuine connections in a world that often values conformity over individuality.