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Sons and Lovers DH Lawrence Hardcover Hardcover -

by D. H. Lawrence

About this book

Though it is the author’s third novel, Sons and Lovers is often regarded as D.H. Lawrence’s masterpiece. The autobiographical work, which was originally titled Paul Morel after its protagonist, was set in motion with the death of Lawrence’s mother, Lydia. The author used the opportunity to reexamine his childhood, his relationship with his mother, and her psychological effect on his sexuality.

Sons and Lovers had already been rejected by one publisher when Lawrence sent the manuscript to Edward Garnett of Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd. Garnett made extensive editing suggestions and still — after Lawrence rewrote the manuscript for the fourth time — cut 80 passages, about 10% of the work, before its 1913 publication.

At the time of publication, Sons and Lovers was criticized for being obscene. But the novel endured. It has been adapted for film multiple times, including the Academy Award winning 1960 film. The Modern Library placed it ninth on their list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.

From the publisher

Sons and Lovers is a 1913 novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence, originally published by Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd., London, and Mitchell Kennerley Publishers, New York. While the novel initially received a lukewarm critical reception, along with allegations of obscenity, it is today regarded as a masterpiece by many critics and is often regarded as Lawrence's finest achievement.


Part I

The refined daughter of a "good old burgher family," Gertrude Coppard meets a rough-hewn miner, Walter Morel, at a Christmas dance and falls into a whirlwind romance characterised by physical passion. But soon after her marriage to Walter, she realises the difficulties of living off his meagre salary in a rented house. The couple fight and drift apart and Walter retreats to the pub after work each day. Gradually, Mrs. Morel's affections shift to her sons beginning with the oldest, William.


As a boy, William is so attached to his mother that he doesn't enjoy the fair without her. As he grows older, he defends her against his father's occasional violence. Eventually, he leaves their Nottinghamshire home for a job in London, where he begins to rise up into the middle class. He is engaged, but he detests the girl's superficiality. William dies and Mrs. Morel is heartbroken. When her second son Paul catches pneumonia she rediscovers her love for Paul.


Part II

Both repulsed by and drawn to his mother, Paul is afraid to leave her but wants to go out on his own, and needs to experience love. Gradually, he falls into a relationship with Miriam, a farmer's daughter who attends his church. The two take long walks and have intellectual conversations about books but Paul resists, in part because his mother disapproves. At Miriam's family's farm, Paul meets Clara Dawes, a young woman with, apparently, feminist sympathies who has separated from her husband, Baxter.


After pressuring Miriam into a physical relationship, which he finds unsatisfying, Paul breaks with her as he grows more intimate with Clara, who is more passionate physically. But even she cannot hold him and he returns to his mother. When his mother dies soon after, he is alone.


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First Edition Identification

Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd. first published Sons and Lovers in the UK in 1913. First editions have dark blue binding, gold lettering stamped on the upper cover and spine, and a 20-page segment of publisher's advertisements at the end. There are at least two or three issues of the first edition: copies have been noted both with the bound-in title without date and with the tipped-in title with the date on the copyright page.

Details

  • Title Sons and Lovers DH Lawrence Hardcover
  • Author D. H. Lawrence
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Pages 542
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Sahara Publisher Books
  • ISBN 9782382261286 / 2382261285
  • Weight 1.89 lbs (0.86 kg)
  • Dimensions 9 x 6 x 1.19 in (22.86 x 15.24 x 3.02 cm)
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

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