David Herbert 'D. H.' Lawrence

Because of his frank and honest portrayal of human sexuality in the controversial works for which he is best known, e.g. "Lady Chatterley's Lover" and "Women in Love," D.H. Lawrence was not widely respected in his day. In fact at the time of his death he was considered little more than a pornographer. However E.M. Forester challenged this portrayal calling Lawrence "The greatest imaginative novelist of our generation", and with his extended reflection...

Written after the First World War when he was living in Sicily, "Sea and Sardinia" records Lawrence's journey to Sardinia and back in January 1921. It reveals his response to a new landscape and people and his ability to transmute the spirit of place into literary art. Like his other travel writings, the book is also a shrewd inquiry into the political and social values of an era which saw the rise of communism and fascism. On one level an indictment...

This comprehensive collection of D.H. Lawrence's complete novels and chosen tales reveals the everlasting brilliance of his work. Immerse yourself in Lawrence's rich narrative tapestry as he explores the complexities of human relationships, society standards, and the essence of human nature. From the intense examination of love and desire in "Women in Love" to the brilliant description of country life in "The Rainbow," Lawrence's vivid prose and...

Rex' is a riotous story of the turmoil caused in a household by the arrival of a puppy. The setting is similar to the one found in 'Sons and Lovers’, but Lawrence thought this scene deserved the fuller treatment of a short story. The question of the destructive force of unconditional love is left open.

The Man Who Was Through With the World' picks up the same themes as in Lawrence's short story 'The Man Who Loved Islands'. He asks if we can ever withdraw from the world, no matter how much it disgusts us. The ironic part of this fragment is that the hermit vainly seeks to think holy thoughts while all around him is the natural world which could provide his life with meaning. The fragment is unfinished leaving the reader to wonder if the hero would...

A Chapel and a Hayhut among the Mountains'. This piece of writing falls between the short story and travel writing but is presented here as a short story largely because it depicts the warm love between Lawrence and his wife Frieda (Anita in the story) as they begin their life of travel together.

The Horse Dealer's Daughter' is a story, gripping in its content. It encompasses the terror of death and disgrace which is redeemed by passion and sexuality. The question Lawrence leaves open is whether the doctor's avowal of love is genuine or driven by the awakening of his own sexuality and pity for the woman.

Second Best' was written by D H Lawrence in 1912. In this delicate story of boy-girl love, Lawrence is at his best, intertwining the feelings of the two lovers with the natural world around them, the countryside, flowers and fields and the moles who are sacrificed to bring the lovers together. The young girl may consider her lover 'second best' but his passion and honesty ring true.

For the first time, all of Lawrence's sixty-seven short stories are collected in a single volume. The settings range from the scenes of his Nottinghamshire boyhood and the mining community he grew up in, his teaching years and to the world of his travels from Australia to South America and Europe. But the stories always encompass the eternal in the particular.

Smile' is one of Lawrence's shorter pieces, a thumbnail sketch of an idea. A man is relieved that his wife is dead and struggles to hide his relief when confronted with his wife's body. The relief breaks out in a smile which he struggles to excuse. How much better it would have been, Lawrence seems to be saying, if he had just laughed out loud!