If you remove book bans and decency disputes from your knowledge of D.H. Lawrence, what are you left with? Though Lawrence’s works were often met with controversy, he is now regarded as one of the 20th century’s most important writers. True, his frank discussions of sexuality broke new ground, allowing future authors to explore similar themes with greater freedom… but besides novels, Lawrence was also a prolific poet, an essayist, and even a painter. His body of work spans travel books, short stories, plays and literary criticism… and we thought it was high time we knew a bit more about this author!
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David Herbert Lawrence, better known as D.H. Lawrence, was born on September 11, 1885, in Nottinghamshire, England. He was the son of a coal miner and a schoolteacher, and his working-class background later played a significant role in shaping his literary voice. The tensions between his illiterate, laboring father and his more educated, aspirational mother created themes that would later surface in his writing, especially in his exploration of class and relationships.
Lawrence’s education began locally, but his academic aptitude earned him a scholarship to Nottingham High School, and later he trained to become a teacher. However, his passion for writing began to flourish after he published his first novel, The White Peacock, in 1911. It wasn’t long before he left teaching to fully pursue his literary ambitions. While The White Peacock might have opened his eyes to the possibility of a different career, it was his novel Sons and Lovers, published in 1913, that established him as a major writer on the literary stage. This novel drew from his own life experiences, portraying the complex relationship between a young man and his mother, and is often considered one of his most autobiographical works.
Lawrence’s writings were marked by a deep exploration of human emotion, nature, and sexuality, which (one might imagine correctly) often led to controversy at the time. His novels Women in Love (1920) and Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928), greatly pushed social and moral boundaries of the time, resulting in censorship and bans. The latter, in particular, was banned in several countries due to its frank portrayal of sexual relationships and the critique of class structures. That all being said, these specific works are now seen as pioneers in their honest depiction of human relationships and desires.
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Lawrence’s personal life was as tumultuous as his career. In 1912, he fell in love with Frieda Weekley, the wife of one of his former professors. In the face of scandal, they eloped and spent much of their lives traveling across Europe, Australia and North America together – a period of time Lawrence referred to as his “savage pilgrimage.” These travels inspired many of Lawrence’s later works, and truly helped shape his voice as a narrator of the human experience. He died in 1930 at the age of 44.
Despite the controversies surrounding his works during his lifetime, D.H. Lawrence is now recognized as one of the most influential literary figures of the 20th century. His exploration of human relationships (particularly his willingness to depict sexuality as a central force in human life) challenged societal norms and censorship laws. This challenge, in turn, helped pave the way for greater freedom of expression in the world of literature – his impact can be seen in the works of writers such as Aldous Huxley and Anaïs Nin, who admired the bold exploration of personal freedom. Today, his influence spans modernist literature, poetry, and even discussions on personal freedom and societal constraints. Happy 139th Birthday to D.H. Lawrence!
