'Women in Love is a work of genius. It contains characters which are masterpieces of pure creation' New Statesman
‘What beauties the book contains! There are many pages in it so saturated with warm and lovely intimacies that one reads absorbed’ Guardian
Women in Love begins one blossoming spring day in England and ends with a terrible catastrophe in the snow of the Alps. Ursula and Gudrun are very different sisters who become entangled with two friends, Rupert and Gerald, who live in their hometown. The bonds between the couples quickly become intense and passionate but whether this passion is creative or destructive is unclear.In this astonishing novel, widely considered to be D.H. Lawrence's best work, he explores what it means to be human in an age of conflict and confusion.
D.H. Lawrence was born as David Herbert Lawrence. He was born on September 11, 1885, in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England, to a working-class family. His early life experiences
and the social environment he grew up in greatly influenced his writing.
In his childhood, Lawrence witnessed the struggles and tensions within his family and the surrounding mining community. His father worked as a miner, and his mother’s
unhappiness and frustrations in her marriage left a lasting impact on Lawrence. Despite the challenges, Lawrence showed an early aptitude for education and was awarded a scholarship to Nottingham High School.
Lawrence’s time at school exposed him to a broader world of literature and ideas. He excelled academically, developing a passion for literature, poetry, and art. His intellectual
pursuits led him to study classics at Nottingham University College (now the University of Nottingham) in 1906. At
university, Lawrence encountered a vibrant literary and artistic community, which further fuelled his creative aspirations.
During his university years, Lawrence began writing poetry, short stories, and essays. He explored themes of human relationships, sexuality, and the profound connection between man and nature.
After leaving university, Lawrence experienced a period of restlessness and uncertainty. He held various jobs, including working as a schoolteacher and a clerk, while continuing to
write.
His early works were not commercially successful, and he struggled financially.
However, Lawrence’s breakthrough came with the publication of his novel Sons and Lovers in 1913. It received critical acclaim for its psychological depth and vivid storytelling. The success of it marked the beginning of Lawrence’s rise to literary fame. In the years that followed, Lawrence published several
notable works, including The Rainbow (1915) and Women in Love (1920). Both faced censorship and controversy due to their explicit depictions of sexuality. Lawrence’s writing
challenged societal norms and conventions. It explored the complexities of human desires and relationships in a candid manner. Lawrence’s reputation as a groundbreaking writer grew, but he faced ongoing struggles with censorship and
public reception.
His works continued to delve into themes
of passion, individuality, and the clash between nature and industrialization. Sadly, Lawrence’s life was cut short when he succumbed to tuberculosis on March 2 1930, in Vence, France.
He was 44 at that time. His literary legacy, however, lives on, and his works have had a profound and lasting impact on 20th-century literature. D.H. Lawrence’s fearless exploration
of human emotions and the complexities of relationships continues to captivate readers to this day.
He's an intoxicator... Has there ever been anyone like him for bringing places and people so vividly to life?
I do not claim to be a literary critic, but I know dirt when I smell it, and here is dirt in heaps- festering, putrid heaps which smell to high Heaven
John Bull, 1921
It is a wonderful novel by a writer who created his own narrative voice
It is the task of our generation to learn to read him again with compassion
It's a very brave and outspoken book, which expresses things that we still have trouble expressing today
Its questions about marriage and eroticism, grief and the frightening blankness of nature, have made it one of our century's most popular novels
Financial Times
Lawrence was the first literary artist to emphasise the huge importance of sex as a means of human fulfillment
The Times
The greatest imaginative novelist of our generation
The point with Lawrence is never to be afraid of going too far, is always to push, push, push. In the pushing-process, Lawrence writes one of the most truly and thoroughly poetic novels in English
What beauties the book contains! There are many pages in it so saturated with warm and lovely intimacies that one reads absorbed
Guardian
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