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D.H. Lawrence: The Dover Reader
D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) created controversial works that explore the dehumanizing effects of modern life. But in his lifetime the novelist, poet, playwright, and essayist was regarded as little more than a pornographer. Today Lawrence is praised for his artistic vision as well as his integrity, and his books and other writings rank among the English literary canon.
This anthology presents the complete text of Lawrence's masterpiece, Sons and Lovers. Additional features include an essay, "Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious," and the short stories "The Prussian Officer," "Odour of Chrysanthemums," and "England, My England." Additional selections include "Snake" and other poems.
This anthology presents the complete text of Lawrence's masterpiece, Sons and Lovers. Additional features include an essay, "Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious," and the short stories "The Prussian Officer," "Odour of Chrysanthemums," and "England, My England." Additional selections include "Snake" and other poems.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 19, 2015
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About the author
D.H. Lawrence
2,086 books4,181 followersDavid Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English writer of the 20th century, whose prolific and diverse output included novels, short stories, poems, plays, essays, travel books, paintings, translations, literary criticism, and personal letters. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanizing effects of modernity and industrialisation. In them, Lawrence confronts issues relating to emotional health and vitality, spontaneity, human sexuality and instinct.
Lawrence's opinions earned him many enemies and he endured official persecution, censorship, and misrepresentation of his creative work throughout the second half of his life, much of which he spent in a voluntary exile he called his "savage pilgrimage." At the time of his death, his public reputation was that of a pornographer who had wasted his considerable talents. E. M. Forster, in an obituary notice, challenged this widely held view, describing him as "the greatest imaginative novelist of our generation." Later, the influential Cambridge critic F. R. Leavis championed both his artistic integrity and his moral seriousness, placing much of Lawrence's fiction within the canonical "great tradition" of the English novel. He is now generally valued as a visionary thinker and a significant representative of modernism in English literature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.H._Law...
Lawrence's opinions earned him many enemies and he endured official persecution, censorship, and misrepresentation of his creative work throughout the second half of his life, much of which he spent in a voluntary exile he called his "savage pilgrimage." At the time of his death, his public reputation was that of a pornographer who had wasted his considerable talents. E. M. Forster, in an obituary notice, challenged this widely held view, describing him as "the greatest imaginative novelist of our generation." Later, the influential Cambridge critic F. R. Leavis championed both his artistic integrity and his moral seriousness, placing much of Lawrence's fiction within the canonical "great tradition" of the English novel. He is now generally valued as a visionary thinker and a significant representative of modernism in English literature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.H._Law...
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 8, 2015
This anthology is part of The Dover Reader Series, a way of providing cheap, accessible access to popular and lesser known works by the author. Other authors in The Dover Reader Series include: Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Edith Wharton, Jack London, Edgar Allen Poe and G.K. Chesterton. Because there are so many elements to this anthology, I am only going to give a true review Sons and Lovers. However, overall, I really enjoyed D.H. Lawrence The Dover Reader – it has good accompaniments, and is good for someone who hasn’t read much of D.H. Lawrence.
Sons and Lovers
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
This story follows Paul Morel who has many ambivalent relationships. It follows Morel from his birth, which seems to be the standard format for 19th/early 20th century novels.
The main theme to this book, which is probably obvious, is relationships. Although Lawrence was lampooned as a ‘pervert’ there is not a lot of sex, it is mainly implied. Most of the ‘action’ tends to be in the psychological tensions, what is left unsaid and thoughts about the relationship from both the ‘insiders’ and the ‘outsiders’. Morel’s relationship with his mother is proto-Freudian and I am left wondering about the type of ‘kisses’ that Lawrence is referring to – certainly no one else in the book had such an ‘affectionate’ relationship with their parent.
When I read Wuthering Heights, the only thing I didn’t like are the passages with the Scottish dialect as it was hard to understand what he was saying. There is quite a bit of dialect in this book, but, for me at least, it was easier to understand. When I struggled I just read it aloud/mouthed it phonetically and it was OK. As a side note, “mater” is in Maurice by E.M. Forster so I am guessing it was common slang for ‘mother’ like ‘Mum’ is today?
I have to admit that Part 1 was better than Part 2. I found Part 2 hard to follow, it was unclear who the ‘she’ Morel was talking too. Chronologically, I found it hard to follow. Morel’s age goes back and forth, in one section he is 22 and another he is 24 and then later on he is 22 again. I think Lawrence focuses on a special aspect of Morel’s life and then goes to another aspect, going back in time.
Generally, the plot isn’t that predictable also looking back there is some foreshadowing. There are many lines that I enjoyed in this book. Some parts are quite witty (e.g. the part about people carving their name as a poor way of achieving immortality and "Love-tokens") and some parts are quite insightful. Having finished Sons and Lovers, I am left wandering what it was Morel was searching for in his relationships. I did enjoy the ending however, it is the kind that leaves way for a second book because we don’t know whether Morel’s future is happy or sad. Overall I enjoyed reading this book but it wasn’t as enjoyable as Of Human Bondage Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham and so for that reason it is a respectable 4 out of 5 stars.
Sons and Lovers
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
This story follows Paul Morel who has many ambivalent relationships. It follows Morel from his birth, which seems to be the standard format for 19th/early 20th century novels.
The main theme to this book, which is probably obvious, is relationships. Although Lawrence was lampooned as a ‘pervert’ there is not a lot of sex, it is mainly implied. Most of the ‘action’ tends to be in the psychological tensions, what is left unsaid and thoughts about the relationship from both the ‘insiders’ and the ‘outsiders’. Morel’s relationship with his mother is proto-Freudian and I am left wondering about the type of ‘kisses’ that Lawrence is referring to – certainly no one else in the book had such an ‘affectionate’ relationship with their parent.
When I read Wuthering Heights, the only thing I didn’t like are the passages with the Scottish dialect as it was hard to understand what he was saying. There is quite a bit of dialect in this book, but, for me at least, it was easier to understand. When I struggled I just read it aloud/mouthed it phonetically and it was OK. As a side note, “mater” is in Maurice by E.M. Forster so I am guessing it was common slang for ‘mother’ like ‘Mum’ is today?
I have to admit that Part 1 was better than Part 2. I found Part 2 hard to follow, it was unclear who the ‘she’ Morel was talking too. Chronologically, I found it hard to follow. Morel’s age goes back and forth, in one section he is 22 and another he is 24 and then later on he is 22 again. I think Lawrence focuses on a special aspect of Morel’s life and then goes to another aspect, going back in time.
Generally, the plot isn’t that predictable also looking back there is some foreshadowing. There are many lines that I enjoyed in this book. Some parts are quite witty (e.g. the part about people carving their name as a poor way of achieving immortality and "Love-tokens") and some parts are quite insightful. Having finished Sons and Lovers, I am left wandering what it was Morel was searching for in his relationships. I did enjoy the ending however, it is the kind that leaves way for a second book because we don’t know whether Morel’s future is happy or sad. Overall I enjoyed reading this book but it wasn’t as enjoyable as Of Human Bondage Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham and so for that reason it is a respectable 4 out of 5 stars.
October 7, 2022
This edition includes the novel Sons and Lovers, three short stories: The Prussian Officer, Odour of Chrysanthemums, and England, my England (my favourite out of all the works present), five poems, which constitute a measly seven pages in this 500-page anthology, and a work of non-fiction: Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious.
The first work presented should be Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious, because it sets the stage for everything else, but fine. About the works themselves: Sons and Lovers, which takes up 400 pages (4/5 of the entire book) is so psychological, so internal, that it left me thinking that not much actually happened, so it doesn't grasp attention. 400 pages, in my opinion, are more than enough to create a plot beyond the characters' internal struggles. The poetry should have earned a bigger spot in the book, because five short poems, between a 400-page novel, 54 pages of short stories and 30-odd pages of non-fiction, seven short pages get completely lost.
The first work presented should be Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious, because it sets the stage for everything else, but fine. About the works themselves: Sons and Lovers, which takes up 400 pages (4/5 of the entire book) is so psychological, so internal, that it left me thinking that not much actually happened, so it doesn't grasp attention. 400 pages, in my opinion, are more than enough to create a plot beyond the characters' internal struggles. The poetry should have earned a bigger spot in the book, because five short poems, between a 400-page novel, 54 pages of short stories and 30-odd pages of non-fiction, seven short pages get completely lost.
July 9, 2015
The compilation includes his full length novel: Sons and Lovers as well as a variety of short stories, poems and a work of nonfiction entitled Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious.
Lawrence, known in his time for the perverse and, often, sexual nature of his writing incurred the descriptor of scandalous throughout his life. He is best known for his novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover, though his other works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have come to receive great acclaim as well.
In this Dover Thrift Edition of D.H. Lawrence’s work, The Prussian Officer, published in 1914, is a pointed example of the scandalous themes and ideas that led Lawrence’s work to be banned throughout the world. The short story focuses on a military captain who has sexual feelings for his orderly, and treats him monstrously out of jealousy for the orderly’s relationship with his girlfriend, as well as out of spite and anger for the captain’s own feelings. An exemplar of Lawrence’s work, the story ends in revenge, tragedy and irony.
In his poem Snake, published in 1920, Lawrence moves on to discuss social and religious ideas. Delving into matters of social class, Lawrence focuses on the lack of reverence those in the upper echelon of society have for those in the middle and low classes. Those below, though, tend to look upon those above like gods, and Snake is a stark outcry against this perpetuated a system. Lawrence further draws in religious imagery to illustrate the eternal battle between good and evil that pervades existence from the Bible to our current state.
Finally, Lawrence’s Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious, first published in 1921, is actually a critique of Freudian as well as contemporary scientific theory on the nature of sex. A fundamental work for understanding Lawrence’s philosophy and the backdrop for much of his fictional work, Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious is a perfect conclusion to the Dover Thrift Edition.
http://centeredonbooks.com/2015/06/13...
Lawrence, known in his time for the perverse and, often, sexual nature of his writing incurred the descriptor of scandalous throughout his life. He is best known for his novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover, though his other works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have come to receive great acclaim as well.
In this Dover Thrift Edition of D.H. Lawrence’s work, The Prussian Officer, published in 1914, is a pointed example of the scandalous themes and ideas that led Lawrence’s work to be banned throughout the world. The short story focuses on a military captain who has sexual feelings for his orderly, and treats him monstrously out of jealousy for the orderly’s relationship with his girlfriend, as well as out of spite and anger for the captain’s own feelings. An exemplar of Lawrence’s work, the story ends in revenge, tragedy and irony.
In his poem Snake, published in 1920, Lawrence moves on to discuss social and religious ideas. Delving into matters of social class, Lawrence focuses on the lack of reverence those in the upper echelon of society have for those in the middle and low classes. Those below, though, tend to look upon those above like gods, and Snake is a stark outcry against this perpetuated a system. Lawrence further draws in religious imagery to illustrate the eternal battle between good and evil that pervades existence from the Bible to our current state.
Finally, Lawrence’s Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious, first published in 1921, is actually a critique of Freudian as well as contemporary scientific theory on the nature of sex. A fundamental work for understanding Lawrence’s philosophy and the backdrop for much of his fictional work, Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious is a perfect conclusion to the Dover Thrift Edition.
http://centeredonbooks.com/2015/06/13...
October 8, 2020
D. H. Lawrence: The Dover Reader is an anthology of the writing of D.H. Lawrence. Lawrence was a writer of non-fiction, novels, short stories, and poetry. He also painted, translated, and was a literary critic. His writing shook post-Victorian England. He saw modernizing and industrial growth as dehumanizing and concentrated more on the human element. His most famous work Lady Chatterley's Lover was heavily censored when it was published in 1928. When it was released in 1946, uncensored, Penguin Books in Britain was brought up on obscenity charges. The charges were dismissed and today the book would not even have made a ripple in the moral fabric.
This Dover edition includes Sons and Lovers as its anchor which is a solid work and one that does not first come to mind when thinking of Lawrence. It is followed up with several excellent short stories. These seem complete in their format and do not leave the reader wanting closure or looking for the complete story. The poetry section is well done. Lawrence keeps with the more classical format. The poem “Snake” is a remarkable human experience with nature and regret when societal norms have the poet act outside of his personal feelings. The collection closes with writings on psychoanalysis. Not being a student of psychology, I found this section a bit beyond my interests, but it does show the well-roundedness of Lawrence’s work and education. In the modern world of specialization, Lawrence comes through as a man who explored and took in everything.
This anthology presents a broad look at Lawrence’s work. In the ebook edition, the index allows the reader to jump to different sections, chapters, and individual poems. Although free editions of these books exist, they are machine transferred and full of inaccuracies and odd characters. The Dover edition presents a properly formatted ebook that is error free and allows for the full feature functioning in your e-reader or reading application. Another outstanding anthology, and recommended for those needing an introduction of Lawrence or wanting to expand beyond a single novel.
This Dover edition includes Sons and Lovers as its anchor which is a solid work and one that does not first come to mind when thinking of Lawrence. It is followed up with several excellent short stories. These seem complete in their format and do not leave the reader wanting closure or looking for the complete story. The poetry section is well done. Lawrence keeps with the more classical format. The poem “Snake” is a remarkable human experience with nature and regret when societal norms have the poet act outside of his personal feelings. The collection closes with writings on psychoanalysis. Not being a student of psychology, I found this section a bit beyond my interests, but it does show the well-roundedness of Lawrence’s work and education. In the modern world of specialization, Lawrence comes through as a man who explored and took in everything.
This anthology presents a broad look at Lawrence’s work. In the ebook edition, the index allows the reader to jump to different sections, chapters, and individual poems. Although free editions of these books exist, they are machine transferred and full of inaccuracies and odd characters. The Dover edition presents a properly formatted ebook that is error free and allows for the full feature functioning in your e-reader or reading application. Another outstanding anthology, and recommended for those needing an introduction of Lawrence or wanting to expand beyond a single novel.
April 23, 2018
An anthology composed mostly of D.H. Lawrence's masterpiece novel, Sons and Lovers, considered one of the greatest English-language novels of all time (#7 on Modern Library's list). I could probably spend a year poring over each masterfully constructed sentence, metaphor, and dive into the soul of each character. Unfortunately I have 65 additional books to read to hit my goal in 2018. The 100 pages or so at the end comprise a few excellent short stories (The Prussian Officer being especially affecting), a few poems, and a bizarre essay about the unconscious which in which Lawrence inexplicably locates some cognitive function to the solar plexus. Nevertheless, this book may have been the best $2.50 I ever spent.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews