diff --git a/Makefile.in b/Makefile.in
index 1e1c179..468608d 100644
--- a/Makefile.in
+++ b/Makefile.in
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ INSTALL_LIBRARY	= @INSTALL_LIBRARY@
 PACKAGE_NAME	= @PACKAGE_NAME@
 PACKAGE_VERSION	= @PACKAGE_VERSION@
 PYTHON_VERSION	= @PYTHON_VERSION@
+PYTHON_SHARED	= @PYTHON_SHARED@
 CC		= @CC@
 CFLAGS_DEFAULT	= @CFLAGS_DEFAULT@
 CFLAGS_WARNING	= @CFLAGS_WARNING@
@@ -455,10 +456,18 @@ uninstall-binaries:
 # tohil python stuff
 #
 build-python-module:
-	python3 setup.py build
+	@if test "$(PYTHON_SHARED)" = "1"; then \
+		python3 setup.py build; \
+	else \
+		echo "Skipping setup.py build for static Python"; \
+	fi
 
 install-python-module:
-	python3 setup.py install
+	@if test "$(PYTHON_SHARED)" = "1"; then \
+		python3 setup.py install; \
+	else \
+		echo "Skipping setup.py install for static Python"; \
+	fi
 
 clean-python-module:
 	rm -rf build/ dist/ pysrc/tohil.egg-info/ tests/__pycache__/
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 0cc8148..a0fd024 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ AC_ARG_WITH(python-version,  --with-python-version        python version (like 3
 need_python_config=""
 
 if test "${with_python_include+set}" = "set"; then
-    PYTHON_INCLUDES="-I'${with_python_include}'"
+    PYTHON_INCLUDES="-I${with_python_include}"
     AC_MSG_RESULT([using python includes of... "$PYTHON_INCLUDES"])
 else
     need_python_config="1"
@@ -120,6 +120,37 @@ if test "$need_python_config" = "1"; then
 	fi
 fi
 
+# Check for pyconfig.h and Py_ENABLE_SHARED
+
+python_save_CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS"
+CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS $PYTHON_INCLUDES"
+
+AC_CHECK_HEADER(
+    [pyconfig.h], [
+        AC_MSG_CHECKING([whether Python is built as a shared library])
+        AC_COMPILE_IFELSE(
+            [AC_LANG_PROGRAM(
+                 [[
+                     #include <pyconfig.h>
+                     #ifndef Py_ENABLE_SHARED
+                     #error "Python not built with shared library support"
+                     #endif
+                 ]], [])],
+            [
+                AC_MSG_RESULT([yes])
+                PYTHON_SHARED=1
+            ],
+            [
+                AC_MSG_RESULT([no])
+                PYTHON_SHARED=0
+            ])
+
+    ], [AC_MSG_ERROR([Cannot find pyconfig.h from $PYTHON_INCLUDES])]
+)
+
+CPPFLAGS="$python_save_CPPFLAGS"
+
+AC_SUBST(PYTHON_SHARED)
 AC_SUBST(PYTHON_INCLUDES)
 AC_SUBST(PYTHON_LIB_DIR)
 AC_SUBST(PYTHON_VERSION)
diff --git a/generic/tohil.c b/generic/tohil.c
index 277ae7d..ab9093a 100644
--- a/generic/tohil.c
+++ b/generic/tohil.c
@@ -18,7 +18,10 @@
 #include <tcl.h>
 
 #include <assert.h>
-#include <dlfcn.h>
+
+#ifdef Py_ENABLE_SHARED
+#  include <dlfcn.h>
+#endif
 
 #include <math.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
@@ -1023,7 +1026,7 @@ TohilCall_Cmd(ClientData clientData, Tcl_Interp *interp, int objc, Tcl_Obj *cons
     PyObject *pObjParent = NULL;
     PyObject *pObj = pMainModule;
     PyObject *pObjStr = NULL;
-    char *dot = index(objandfn, '.');
+    char *dot = strchr(objandfn, '.');
     while (dot != NULL) {
         pObjParent = pObj;
 
@@ -1047,7 +1050,7 @@ TohilCall_Cmd(ClientData clientData, Tcl_Interp *interp, int objc, Tcl_Obj *cons
         }
 
         objandfn = dot + 1;
-        dot = index(objandfn, '.');
+        dot = strchr(objandfn, '.');
     }
 
     PyObject *pFn = PyObject_GetAttrString(pObj, objandfn);
@@ -2886,7 +2889,7 @@ tclobj_nb_unaryop(PyObject *v, enum tclobj_unary_op operator)
     } else {
         switch (operator) {
         case Abs:
-            return PyLong_FromLongLong(labs(wideV));
+            return PyLong_FromLongLong(llabs(wideV));
 
         case Negative:
             return PyLong_FromLongLong(-wideV);
@@ -4582,6 +4585,8 @@ static struct PyModuleDef TohilModule = {
 
 /* Shared initialisation begins here */
 
+PyMODINIT_FUNC PyInit__tohil(void);
+
 //
 // this is the entry point called when the tcl interpreter loads the tohil shared library
 //
@@ -4622,6 +4627,7 @@ Tohil_Init(Tcl_Interp *interp)
             }
         }
 
+#ifdef Py_ENABLE_SHARED
         // NB without this ugly hack then on linux if tcl starts
         // python then python gets errors loading C shared libraries
         // such as "import sqlite3", where loading the shared library
@@ -4631,7 +4637,14 @@ Tohil_Init(Tcl_Interp *interp)
         if (dlopen(python_lib, RTLD_GLOBAL | RTLD_LAZY) == NULL) {
             // fprintf(stderr, "load %s failed\n", python_lib);
         }
-
+#else
+        // This structure will be added to the list of built-in modules
+        static struct _inittab tohil_inittab[] = {
+            {"tohil", PyInit__tohil},
+            {NULL, NULL}  // Sentinel
+        };
+        PyImport_ExtendInittab(tohil_inittab);
+#endif
         // initialize python but since tcl is the parent,
         // pass 0 for initsigs, so python will not register
         // signal handlers