A CROWDFUNDER has been launched to help raise a statue in a Dorset town in tribute to a pioneering novelist and poet.

Sylvia Townsend Warner has been chosen to be immortalised with a statue in Dorchester, following a public vote, and as part of the Visible Women UK campaign - formerly named Dorchester Sheroes.

A statue of Townsend Warner, who spent most of her life in Dorset, will make her the county town's first non-royal statue of a woman, joining the six statues of men that Dorchester already displays. 

The Crowdfunder campaign was officially launched in Dorchester town centre by local historian Mark Chutter and 'Sylvia Townsend Warner' herself.

It will see gay rights pioneer Townsend Warner - who spent most of her adult life in Frome Vauchurch with long-term partner poet Valentine Ackland - immortalised in South Street in Dorchester town centre.

Some £85,000 is needed for the statue. You can contribute to the Crowdfunder, which has already received £13,500 in donations, here.

A contemporary of Virginia Woolf and Djuna Barnes, Townsend Warner gained early recognition with her debut novel Lolly Willowes (1926), which was shortlisted for the Prix Femina. It marked her out as a fresh voice in modernist fiction.

READ: Gay rights pioneer to be honoured with statue

Over her career, Townsend Warner wrote many novels and contributed short stories to the New Yorker for over 40 years. Her literary work, characterised by sharp wit and profound understanding, frequently explored the oddities and complexities of human nature.

Through her writing and storytelling, Townsend Warner looked closely at the contradictions and idiosyncrasies of human life, often revealing profound truths about society and personal identity. 

Support for the Crowdfunder, which has previously been backed by best-selling Dorset-based author Tracy Chevalier, has come flooding in.

Marty Ross, chair of the Alliance of Literary Societies, said: "I have loved Sylvia Townsend Warner's writing since reading her New Yorker stories as a girl and look forward to seeing her statue in Dorchester."

Sylvia Townsend Warner with statue drawing Sylvia Townsend Warner with statue drawing (Image: Visible Women UK) A spokesman for the Sylvia Townsend Warner Society said: "We are delighted to support the project! More information about this wonderful writer and her work can be found at www.townsendwarner.com"

Supporter Joe Doak said: "It's good to see the first significant step in celebrating the role of women in the town's history. Here’s to the women of Dorset!" 

The sculpture will be designed by Denise Dutton, who created the Mary Anning statue in Lyme Regis.

It will feature a cat because Townsend Warner was an avid cat lover and over the years was often photographed with her cherished feline companions.

One of Dorchester's most famous modern day residents, Susie the Cat, will be used as a model for the sculpture.