PUBLIC DOMAIN TREASURES: "LIVING ALONE" BY STELLA BENSON
I love going through Project Gutenberg because not only does it allow me to rediscover the classics such as Sherlock Holmes and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but it allows me to discover other public domain books that may no longer be in print. For example, reading an article on Wikipedia about fictional depictions of witches, I accidentally discovered a 1919 book by English author Stella Benson titled Living Alone.
Set during World War I, the book follows Sarah Brown, who is part of a charity committee in London when a witch barges in on a committee meeting, having stolen a bun from a baker. The witch - going by random names such as Thelma and Angela - exhibits quirky behaviors before leaving, but she left her broom behind. Fortunately, the broom has an "if lost, please return to" label on it, so Sarah travels to Mitten Island to return the lost broom and discovers that the witch is the superintendent of a place called Living Alone, a convent/monastery for people to get away from the pressures of modern life.
Overall, I thought the book had a very interesting concept, and I liked the characters - especially the main witch, whose real name is apparently "Soup" - but the story felt disjointed, as if Ms. Benson was writing a bunch of different novels at the same time and accidentally mixed up chapters when sending the manuscript in. Also, be warned that the novel does include some period-typical racism as well as some anti-Semitism. Nevertheless, I thought the book was not only all right overall, but I found it good enough that I have the idea to write a modern-day adaptation.