Overview
A vibrant account of the remarkable novel Lady Chatterley's Lover, tracing its life over the last century D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover is one of the best-known and most resonant works of the twentieth century. Originally considered obscene and unpublishable in numerous countries, its scandalous story of class divide and the English countryside is infamous. But, since the 1920s, we have repeatedly re-created Lady Chatterley, from film and TV to music and tourism. Guy Cuthbertson tells the colourful story of the novel's journey through the last hundred years. He examines how the book has been read, adapted, and reimagined across the globe, from the United States to Japan, and explores the 1960 ""Chatterley trial""—a key moment in the struggle for freedom of expression. It might have been burnt and derided, laughed at and defaced, but Lawrence's novel has crept into all walks of life. Whether the book, or its influence, be good or bad, we live in a world that Lady Chatterley's Lover helped to create.
Reviews
“Erudite, informative and told with humour. I loved this account of the explosive arrival and embattled aftermath of a literary sensation – and of the response from an outwardly prudish, inwardly prurient public. Lawrence's 'dirty little book' has changed the world.”—Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment “Shrewd, even-handed, and frequently amusing, Lady C is a gleefully exhaustive survey of reactions to one of the world's most argued-over narratives.”—Robert Crawford, author of Eliot After the Waste Land “Guy Cuthbertson’s ‘life story’ of Lady Chatterley’s Lover is an intricate and engaging history of one of the most famous books in English literature. From its creation to its many afterlives, Cuthbertson deftly weaves a colourful biography of Lawrence’s novel whose cultural resonance lies not only in its plot, but in its legal and popular reception across the decades.”—Jane Potter, author of Wilfred Owen “Seriously entertaining even on the serious subject of censorship, this is a very clever look at the life of a book. Disgustingly good.”—Lucy Worsley, author of Agatha Christie
“Erudite, informative and told with humour. I loved this account of the explosive arrival and embattled aftermath of a literary sensation – and of the response from an outwardly prudish, inwardly prurient public. Lawrence's 'dirty little book' has changed the world.”—Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment “Shrewd, even-handed, and frequently amusing, Lady C is a gleefully exhaustive survey of reactions to one of the world's most argued-over narratives.”—Robert Crawford, author of Eliot After the Waste Land “Guy Cuthbertson’s ‘life story’ of Lady Chatterley’s Lover is an intricate and engaging history of one of the most famous books in English literature. From its creation to its many afterlives, Cuthbertson deftly weaves a colourful biography of Lawrence’s novel whose cultural resonance lies not only in its plot, but in its legal and popular reception across the decades.”—Jane Potter, author of Wilfred Owen “Seriously entertaining even on the serious subject of censorship, this is a very clever look at the life of a book. Disgustingly good.”—Lucy Worsley, author of Agatha Christie “Cuthbertson has achieved the near-impossible: a book of deep scholarship that's also wryly funny. Lady C absolutely is a book you would wish your wife or your servants to read. And everyone else, too.”—Helen Lewis, author of The Genius Myth
“Erudite, informative and told with humour. I loved this account of the explosive arrival and embattled aftermath of a literary sensation – and of the response from an outwardly prudish, inwardly prurient public. Lawrence's 'dirty little book' has changed the world.”—Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment “Shrewd, even-handed, and frequently amusing, Lady C is a gleefully exhaustive survey of reactions to one of the world's most argued-over narratives.”—Robert Crawford, author of Eliot After the Waste Land
Author Information
Guy Cuthbertson is professor of British literature and culture at Liverpool Hope University and the author of a major biography of Wilfred Owen as well as Peace at Last: A Portrait of Armistice Day, 11 November 1918.
