What do you think?
Rate this book
Ο νικητής με το ξύλινο αλογάκι
Διηγήματα
Ο νικητής με το ξύλινο αλογάκι
Πράγματα
Με άγγιξες
Οι κόρες του εφημέριου
Ο Ντέιβιντ Χέρμπερτ Λώρενς γεννήθηκε στα 1885 στην περιοχή των ανθρακωρυχείων του Νοτιγχαμ. Από τα 1919 και μετά έφυγε απο την Αγγλία και περιπλανιόταν στην Ευρώπη και την Αμερική μέχρι τον πρόωρο θανατό του, στα 1930.
Πολυγραφότατος συγγραφέας, έγινε κυρίως γνωστός για τα μυθιστορήματα του, που ξεσήκωσαν σάλο όταν πρωτοεκδόθηκαν. Παρόλ' αυτά, το έργο του περιλαμβάνει ποιήματα, δοκίμια, ταξιδιωτικές εντυπώσεις και διηγήματα.
Χρόνια μετά τον θανατό του, όταν καταλάγιασε ο θόρυβος που είχαν προκαλέσει τα μεγάλα του μυθιστορήματα, οι κριτικοί της λογοτεχνίας αναγνώρισαν τη μεγάλη αξία των διηγημάτων του. Γιατί τα έγραψε αψηφώντας τους τυποποιημένους κανόνες, αποφεύγοντας τα τεχνάσματα των συγγραφέων του συρμού, αρνούμενος να δώσει σ' αυτά παράξενο και απροσδόκητο τέλος.
Τα διηγήματά του δείχνουν άνθρωπο που έχει ξεπεράσει τις κοινωνικές συμβάσεις, που αντιμάχεται την πεζή <<υλιστική>> κοσμοαντίληψη του καιρού του, που αντικρίζει τη ζωή με σοβαρότητα και ειλικρίνεια. Αγαπά βαθύτατα τον άνθρωπο, πιστεύει στο απαράγραπτο δικαίωμά μας να ζούμε και να χαιρόμαστε τη ζωή, επειδη...
<<η ψυχή του ανθρώπου έχει περισσότερο ανάγκη την πραγματική ομορφιά και λίγότερο το ψωμί>>
Ο νικητής με το ξύλινο αλογάκι
Πράγματα
Με άγγιξες
Οι κόρες του εφημέριου
Ο Ντέιβιντ Χέρμπερτ Λώρενς γεννήθηκε στα 1885 στην περιοχή των ανθρακωρυχείων του Νοτιγχαμ. Από τα 1919 και μετά έφυγε απο την Αγγλία και περιπλανιόταν στην Ευρώπη και την Αμερική μέχρι τον πρόωρο θανατό του, στα 1930.
Πολυγραφότατος συγγραφέας, έγινε κυρίως γνωστός για τα μυθιστορήματα του, που ξεσήκωσαν σάλο όταν πρωτοεκδόθηκαν. Παρόλ' αυτά, το έργο του περιλαμβάνει ποιήματα, δοκίμια, ταξιδιωτικές εντυπώσεις και διηγήματα.
Χρόνια μετά τον θανατό του, όταν καταλάγιασε ο θόρυβος που είχαν προκαλέσει τα μεγάλα του μυθιστορήματα, οι κριτικοί της λογοτεχνίας αναγνώρισαν τη μεγάλη αξία των διηγημάτων του. Γιατί τα έγραψε αψηφώντας τους τυποποιημένους κανόνες, αποφεύγοντας τα τεχνάσματα των συγγραφέων του συρμού, αρνούμενος να δώσει σ' αυτά παράξενο και απροσδόκητο τέλος.
Τα διηγήματά του δείχνουν άνθρωπο που έχει ξεπεράσει τις κοινωνικές συμβάσεις, που αντιμάχεται την πεζή <<υλιστική>> κοσμοαντίληψη του καιρού του, που αντικρίζει τη ζωή με σοβαρότητα και ειλικρίνεια. Αγαπά βαθύτατα τον άνθρωπο, πιστεύει στο απαράγραπτο δικαίωμά μας να ζούμε και να χαιρόμαστε τη ζωή, επειδη...
<<η ψυχή του ανθρώπου έχει περισσότερο ανάγκη την πραγματική ομορφιά και λίγότερο το ψωμί>>
131 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1926
29 people are currently reading
2940 people want to read
About the author
D.H. Lawrence
2,083 books4,188 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...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 353 reviews
July 3, 2025
All bets are off!
Paul is one of three children of a respected lower middle-class family; modest, but of well-living. Yet for some unlucky chance his parents seems to be always in dire need of money. Fortune seems to change and favor him when he gets a winning streak betting horses at the race track. The thing is... it's not enough. It's never enough. He needs more money. There must be more money!
Nice! Very nice, in a way. This was consistently good, and the ending certainly makes a very strong lasting impression. For some reason it felt like there were many loose ends regarding the mother/father/sisters, but other than that, solid 4 stars, if not more. Recommendable.
This was so very good indeed. I feel lucky to have read this; and at the same time I don't.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1926] [22p] [Horror] [3.5] [Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★★☆ The Rocking-Horse Winner. [3.5]
???????? Lady Chatterley's Lover.
-----------------------------------------------
Se acabaron las apuestas!
Paul es uno de los tres hijos de una respetada familia de clase media baja; modesta, pero de buen vivir. Sin embargo, por alguna desafortunada casualidad, sus padres siempre parecen estar en extrema necesidad de dinero. La fortuna parece cambiar y favorecerlo cuando consigue una racha ganadora apostando caballos en el hipódromo. La cuestión es que... no es suficiente. Nunca es suficiente. Necesita más dinero. ¡Tiene que haber más dinero!
Caray! Esto fue hermoso, en cierta forma. Esto estuvo consistentemente bueno, y ese final ciertamente deja una fuerte impresión muy duradera. Por alguna razón, me pareció que quedaron muchos cabos sueltos con respecto a la madre/padre/hermanas; pero más allá de eso, sólidas 4 estrellas, si no es que más. Recomendable.
Esto estuvo muy muy bien de verdad. Me siento afortunado de haberlo leído; y al mismo tiempo no.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1926] [22p] [Horror] [3.5] [Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Paul is one of three children of a respected lower middle-class family; modest, but of well-living. Yet for some unlucky chance his parents seems to be always in dire need of money. Fortune seems to change and favor him when he gets a winning streak betting horses at the race track. The thing is... it's not enough. It's never enough. He needs more money. There must be more money!
Nice! Very nice, in a way. This was consistently good, and the ending certainly makes a very strong lasting impression. For some reason it felt like there were many loose ends regarding the mother/father/sisters, but other than that, solid 4 stars, if not more. Recommendable.
This was so very good indeed. I feel lucky to have read this; and at the same time I don't.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1926] [22p] [Horror] [3.5] [Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★★☆ The Rocking-Horse Winner. [3.5]
???????? Lady Chatterley's Lover.
-----------------------------------------------
Se acabaron las apuestas!
Paul es uno de los tres hijos de una respetada familia de clase media baja; modesta, pero de buen vivir. Sin embargo, por alguna desafortunada casualidad, sus padres siempre parecen estar en extrema necesidad de dinero. La fortuna parece cambiar y favorecerlo cuando consigue una racha ganadora apostando caballos en el hipódromo. La cuestión es que... no es suficiente. Nunca es suficiente. Necesita más dinero. ¡Tiene que haber más dinero!
Caray! Esto fue hermoso, en cierta forma. Esto estuvo consistentemente bueno, y ese final ciertamente deja una fuerte impresión muy duradera. Por alguna razón, me pareció que quedaron muchos cabos sueltos con respecto a la madre/padre/hermanas; pero más allá de eso, sólidas 4 estrellas, si no es que más. Recomendable.
Esto estuvo muy muy bien de verdad. Me siento afortunado de haberlo leído; y al mismo tiempo no.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1926] [22p] [Horror] [3.5] [Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
January 2, 2026
The opening words sound like a fairy story, and I think this story is Lawrence's only foray beyond metaphor into borderline fantastical.:
“There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck.”
But it is immediately clear that this is more Grimm than Disney:
“She married for love, and the love turned to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them.”
It was intended to be a ghost story, but there are no ghosts - just supernatural voices and premonitions, and the metaphorical ghost of an off-stage, useless father:
“Though he had good prospects, those prospects never materialised.”
It is as haunting as any ghost story because of the combined effects of lack of love and whispering walls on the boy, Paul:
“The house became haunted by the unspoken phrase: There must be more money!’”
The heart of the story is luck, money, and the absence of both.
The heart of Paul longs for love from the empty heart of his mother.
Image: The word “Lucky” with horseshoe U (Source)
Luck
Paul asks why they don’t have a car. His mother says it’s because they’re poor (this is relative - they have a large house and several servants, but live beyond their means).
When he asks why, she says, “slowly and bitterly, ‘it’s because your father has no luck.’” She fails to mention her own compulsive spending.
“Is luck money, mother?”
“No, Paul! Not quite. It’s what causes you to have money… That’s why it’s better to be born lucky than rich.”
So does dying rich mean dying lucky (or just that you have a bad accountant?!)? Tragedy or triumph?
Make your own luck?
The idea of making your own luck is a cliché. But if you “make” it, surely it’s skill, effort, and persistence, rather than luck?
Rationalists like me can’t manufacture luck and can’t hope for Paul’s paranormal solution.
That leaves us with a delicate balancing act: to accept and enjoy what we have right now, even as we reach out and up, striving for more and better lives, more and better selves.
More importantly, sacrificial love is more honourable than materialistic greed.
Image: Mother and Paul’s shadow, from a screen adaptation - Valerie Hobson in 1949, I think (Source)
On the psychiatrist’s couch
Like Oedipus, and like the son in Sons and Lovers, Paul wants to replace his feckless father in the cold heart of his mother. His furious rocking may bring pleasure and relief beyond what's explicit in the story.
But the ending... That's the horror.
Ad astra
As a child, I named my own rocking horse Pegasus because I knew he had wings. Their invisibility was part - confirmation, even - of their magic. Like Paul, my riding was sometimes frantic, mesmeric, dangerous. Pegasus flew me to many and wondrous places. I won no money, but I lived to tell the tales and to see my own, loved, child ride Pegasus as I had done. I saw my own Winner’s Enclosure.
See also
• I’ve reviewed several of DHL’s short stories HERE. Many of them have themes that overlap with those here.
• See Sons and Lovers, which I reviewed HERE, for another Lawrencian Paul with a probably Oedipal complex.
• This sort of ghostless ghost story reminded me a little of Poe. See my reviews of:
- The Pit and the Pendulum
- The Tell-Tale Heart
- The Fall of the House of Usher
• There are several screen adaptations, but I’ve not watched any of them.
Short story club
I reread this as one of the stories in The Art of the Short Story, by Dana Gioia, from which I'm aiming to read one story a week with The Short Story Club, starting 2 May 2022. I reread it again in The Short Story Club's second anthology, Black Water: The Anthology of Fantastic Literature, by Alberto Manguel.
You can read this story here.
You can join the group here.
“There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck.”
But it is immediately clear that this is more Grimm than Disney:
“She married for love, and the love turned to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them.”
It was intended to be a ghost story, but there are no ghosts - just supernatural voices and premonitions, and the metaphorical ghost of an off-stage, useless father:
“Though he had good prospects, those prospects never materialised.”
It is as haunting as any ghost story because of the combined effects of lack of love and whispering walls on the boy, Paul:
“The house became haunted by the unspoken phrase: There must be more money!’”
The heart of the story is luck, money, and the absence of both.
The heart of Paul longs for love from the empty heart of his mother.
Image: The word “Lucky” with horseshoe U (Source)
Luck
Paul asks why they don’t have a car. His mother says it’s because they’re poor (this is relative - they have a large house and several servants, but live beyond their means).
When he asks why, she says, “slowly and bitterly, ‘it’s because your father has no luck.’” She fails to mention her own compulsive spending.
“Is luck money, mother?”
“No, Paul! Not quite. It’s what causes you to have money… That’s why it’s better to be born lucky than rich.”
So does dying rich mean dying lucky (or just that you have a bad accountant?!)? Tragedy or triumph?
Make your own luck?
The idea of making your own luck is a cliché. But if you “make” it, surely it’s skill, effort, and persistence, rather than luck?
Rationalists like me can’t manufacture luck and can’t hope for Paul’s paranormal solution.
That leaves us with a delicate balancing act: to accept and enjoy what we have right now, even as we reach out and up, striving for more and better lives, more and better selves.
More importantly, sacrificial love is more honourable than materialistic greed.
Image: Mother and Paul’s shadow, from a screen adaptation - Valerie Hobson in 1949, I think (Source)
On the psychiatrist’s couch
Like Oedipus, and like the son in Sons and Lovers, Paul wants to replace his feckless father in the cold heart of his mother. His furious rocking may bring pleasure and relief beyond what's explicit in the story.
But the ending... That's the horror.
Ad astra
As a child, I named my own rocking horse Pegasus because I knew he had wings. Their invisibility was part - confirmation, even - of their magic. Like Paul, my riding was sometimes frantic, mesmeric, dangerous. Pegasus flew me to many and wondrous places. I won no money, but I lived to tell the tales and to see my own, loved, child ride Pegasus as I had done. I saw my own Winner’s Enclosure.
See also
• I’ve reviewed several of DHL’s short stories HERE. Many of them have themes that overlap with those here.
• See Sons and Lovers, which I reviewed HERE, for another Lawrencian Paul with a probably Oedipal complex.
• This sort of ghostless ghost story reminded me a little of Poe. See my reviews of:
- The Pit and the Pendulum
- The Tell-Tale Heart
- The Fall of the House of Usher
• There are several screen adaptations, but I’ve not watched any of them.
Short story club
I reread this as one of the stories in The Art of the Short Story, by Dana Gioia, from which I'm aiming to read one story a week with The Short Story Club, starting 2 May 2022. I reread it again in The Short Story Club's second anthology, Black Water: The Anthology of Fantastic Literature, by Alberto Manguel.
You can read this story here.
You can join the group here.
November 12, 2022
This is not about the fervid child hero of the book, the mother whose life is a lie, the desire for money above all else or the writing which was brilliant, stressed and edgy, befitting the tragic story.I do not want to write about the story because it is very short and better read, anything much you read about the story will spoil it for you. This is a link to read online The Rocking-Horse winner.
This is about my beginning experience of audio. I 'read' this or listened to it. I'm getting used to the medium and can see that the acting ability of the narrator is what makes all the difference. More difference that the actual text written by the author. This narrator, a woman, chose to give the little boy a thin, reedy voice, almost laughable, but written, I could see that this had considerably greater depth. I did read the story afterwards and I did not agree with the narrator's characterisation of the little boy at all. She tried to capture more of the 'little-boy'ishness rather than the character of the child, to me.
No matter what I read and hear, I have to say that still to me listening to an audio book is entirely synonymous to listening to a radio play and in no way has the depth of a written book - after all the characterisation and emphasis have all been taken out of my hands and, like with a film, its someone else's interpretation that is feeding my brain.
I like films that I haven't read the book of - my interpretation of the written word will be different from the director's and not at all influenced by 'box office', stars with pulling power and needing to fit the story into a time frame. I like radio plays (sometimes) and I think I can get into audio books, but the substitution of the narrator's interpretation and imagination for my own is the sticking point for me. You would think that if the narrator is also the author I should accept that the interpretation and imagination are absolutely authentic, but I don't read fiction (when I do) for authenticity, I read it for enjoyment.
And I definitely enjoyed this book much more written than listened to.
100% rewritten 12 Nov. 2022 after re-reading the story online.
This is about my beginning experience of audio. I 'read' this or listened to it. I'm getting used to the medium and can see that the acting ability of the narrator is what makes all the difference. More difference that the actual text written by the author. This narrator, a woman, chose to give the little boy a thin, reedy voice, almost laughable, but written, I could see that this had considerably greater depth. I did read the story afterwards and I did not agree with the narrator's characterisation of the little boy at all. She tried to capture more of the 'little-boy'ishness rather than the character of the child, to me.
No matter what I read and hear, I have to say that still to me listening to an audio book is entirely synonymous to listening to a radio play and in no way has the depth of a written book - after all the characterisation and emphasis have all been taken out of my hands and, like with a film, its someone else's interpretation that is feeding my brain.
I like films that I haven't read the book of - my interpretation of the written word will be different from the director's and not at all influenced by 'box office', stars with pulling power and needing to fit the story into a time frame. I like radio plays (sometimes) and I think I can get into audio books, but the substitution of the narrator's interpretation and imagination for my own is the sticking point for me. You would think that if the narrator is also the author I should accept that the interpretation and imagination are absolutely authentic, but I don't read fiction (when I do) for authenticity, I read it for enjoyment.
And I definitely enjoyed this book much more written than listened to.
100% rewritten 12 Nov. 2022 after re-reading the story online.
November 15, 2022
My 2nd short story by DH Lawrence, this time with a fantasy twist. I enjoyed this one even more, i think.
The bottom line of the story: We should strive for more love then for more Money. Also, betting is bad for your health.
It was a sad story, I wanted to hug the boy who is the MC.
The bottom line of the story: We should strive for more love then for more Money. Also, betting is bad for your health.
It was a sad story, I wanted to hug the boy who is the MC.
April 11, 2022
This is a tragic story about how humans are never satisfied with what they have and enough is never enough for them.
The story is so strong and real, it makes you take a good look at the things you value in your life and ask yourself are they worth the sacrifices you make to gain them.
You can read the short story here: http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/...
The story is so strong and real, it makes you take a good look at the things you value in your life and ask yourself are they worth the sacrifices you make to gain them.
You can read the short story here: http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/...
June 17, 2024
I have just re-read this story with the Short-Story Club and put a bit more emphasis on the mother this go-around. I think there are multiple levels to this tale and it warrants re-reading from time to time.
********************
A marvelous little story that explores some very important themes regarding money, greed and obsession. Paul's parents, particularly his mother, are never satisfied with what they have in life. The live beyond their means and show no frugality when they have money at hand. The house, as a result, seems to constantly whisper the need for money...more money, more money. The children in the nursery hear the whispers, and the boy, Paul, decides he must obtain "luck" and quell the whispering.
The story can be read here:
https://www.classicshorts.com/stories...
********************
A marvelous little story that explores some very important themes regarding money, greed and obsession. Paul's parents, particularly his mother, are never satisfied with what they have in life. The live beyond their means and show no frugality when they have money at hand. The house, as a result, seems to constantly whisper the need for money...more money, more money. The children in the nursery hear the whispers, and the boy, Paul, decides he must obtain "luck" and quell the whispering.
The story can be read here:
https://www.classicshorts.com/stories...
July 2, 2025
I've read this story many times, but not recently, and I saw the Goodreads Short Story Club was reading it so I listened to it this time, and loved it once again, the story of "luck" which is defined differently by Paul, a young boy, and his mother, Hester. Paul hears his very house echo his mother's complaint that she "needs more money." She says she has never been lucky, which means for her that she and her extravagant husband never made enough money to please her.
Paul wants his mother's approval, rocking as he does on his rocking horse, trying to get an intuition about who will win horse races. It's somewhat exhilarating as the boy invests his savings on winning horse after winning horse, not telling his mother, storing it away. In some (Oedipal-ish) ways he wants to make his mother happy in a way her husband could not. But the story ends in tragedy, something to do with Paul's rocking away feverishly on the horse, choosing a horse that (ironically) wins him more money than ever, telling his mother that he is lucky, which for him means he would hope to gain her love.
One thing the story is about is tied to a long-time Lawrence theme, that of money/greed/capitalism overwhelming all other needs in the contemporary world. Sad, but powerful. Paul's mental health needs make this story even sadder in many ways.
"My God, Hester, you're eighty-thousand to the good, and a poor devil of a son to the bad"--Paul's uncle, near the end.
here's a pdf of the story:
https://blogs.bu.edu/cflamm/files/201...
Paul wants his mother's approval, rocking as he does on his rocking horse, trying to get an intuition about who will win horse races. It's somewhat exhilarating as the boy invests his savings on winning horse after winning horse, not telling his mother, storing it away. In some (Oedipal-ish) ways he wants to make his mother happy in a way her husband could not. But the story ends in tragedy, something to do with Paul's rocking away feverishly on the horse, choosing a horse that (ironically) wins him more money than ever, telling his mother that he is lucky, which for him means he would hope to gain her love.
One thing the story is about is tied to a long-time Lawrence theme, that of money/greed/capitalism overwhelming all other needs in the contemporary world. Sad, but powerful. Paul's mental health needs make this story even sadder in many ways.
"My God, Hester, you're eighty-thousand to the good, and a poor devil of a son to the bad"--Paul's uncle, near the end.
here's a pdf of the story:
https://blogs.bu.edu/cflamm/files/201...
November 12, 2022
4★
“There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck. She married for love, and the love turned to dust.”
She is so bitter about her lack of advantage that she seems to have lost her capacity for love as well. She begrudges the fact that she has children who always seem to need something. Her little boy has overheard and senses what’s wrong. They don’t have any luck.
“If you’re lucky you have money. That’s why it’s better to be born lucky than rich. If you’re rich, you may lose your money. But if you’re lucky, you will always get more money.”
That’s what he thinks. If he can get lucky, he can get rich. The children play in a nursery, which we might call a toy room or playroom now.
“And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase: ‘There must be more money! There must be more money!’ The children could hear it all the time, though nobody ever said it aloud…
It came whispering from the springs of the still-swaying rocking-horse, and even the horse, bending his wooden, champing head, heard it.”
The little boy begins asking his uncle and the gardener about horse-racing. He rides the rocking-horse frantically.
“He wanted luck, he wanted it, he wanted it. When the two girls were playing dolls, in the nursery, he would sit on his big rocking horse, charging madly into space, with a frenzy that made the little girls peer at him uneasily. Wildly the horse careered, the waving dark hair of the boy tossed, his eyes had a strange glare in them. The little girls dared not speak to him.”
There is a haunting, science fiction element to this that I wasn’t expecting from D.H. Lawrence.
It’s another story that has been discussed by the Short Story Club Group here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
It is included in some story collections, and you can download it here:
https://blogs.bu.edu/cflamm/files/201...
“There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck. She married for love, and the love turned to dust.”
She is so bitter about her lack of advantage that she seems to have lost her capacity for love as well. She begrudges the fact that she has children who always seem to need something. Her little boy has overheard and senses what’s wrong. They don’t have any luck.
“If you’re lucky you have money. That’s why it’s better to be born lucky than rich. If you’re rich, you may lose your money. But if you’re lucky, you will always get more money.”
That’s what he thinks. If he can get lucky, he can get rich. The children play in a nursery, which we might call a toy room or playroom now.
“And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase: ‘There must be more money! There must be more money!’ The children could hear it all the time, though nobody ever said it aloud…
It came whispering from the springs of the still-swaying rocking-horse, and even the horse, bending his wooden, champing head, heard it.”
The little boy begins asking his uncle and the gardener about horse-racing. He rides the rocking-horse frantically.
“He wanted luck, he wanted it, he wanted it. When the two girls were playing dolls, in the nursery, he would sit on his big rocking horse, charging madly into space, with a frenzy that made the little girls peer at him uneasily. Wildly the horse careered, the waving dark hair of the boy tossed, his eyes had a strange glare in them. The little girls dared not speak to him.”
There is a haunting, science fiction element to this that I wasn’t expecting from D.H. Lawrence.
It’s another story that has been discussed by the Short Story Club Group here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
It is included in some story collections, and you can download it here:
https://blogs.bu.edu/cflamm/files/201...
June 18, 2024
3.5 stars
short review for busy readers: One of DH Lawrence’s more famous stories. Although the language in the story is very out-dated, families who have social ambitions beyond their means and stress their children over it is not. Can be read as a paranormal tale or one of oblivious parenting.
in detail:
Little Paul’s mother is an unhappy, greedy woman who feels she has tied her cart to an ‘unlucky’ man. Unlucky, in that he’s handsome and charming, but not super rich. (In modern terms, she’s upset she isn’t married to a billionaire.)
This constant niggle becomes a subliminal whisper in the house that the children can hear. “There must be more money! There must be more money!”
Just that – beyond the rest of the tale - is an excellent demonstration of how the anxieties and unfulfilled desires of parents are telegraphed unfiltered to children who not only believe them wholeheartedly, but sensitive children often take it upon themselves to remedy the situation by any means open to them.
Such a venture is doomed to fail, as no matter what the child does – and Paul does an incredible amount! – the parent will never be happy nor satisfied. The whispering will never cease and it eventually drives the child into an emotional and psychological abyss.
Whether the rocking horse and Paul’s gift of clairvoyance are real or a metaphor for all the strain and suffering children will go through to relieve a parent they see suffering, is up to the individual reader. I tend to see it as both.
Read with the GR Short Story Club
short review for busy readers: One of DH Lawrence’s more famous stories. Although the language in the story is very out-dated, families who have social ambitions beyond their means and stress their children over it is not. Can be read as a paranormal tale or one of oblivious parenting.
in detail:
Little Paul’s mother is an unhappy, greedy woman who feels she has tied her cart to an ‘unlucky’ man. Unlucky, in that he’s handsome and charming, but not super rich. (In modern terms, she’s upset she isn’t married to a billionaire.)
This constant niggle becomes a subliminal whisper in the house that the children can hear. “There must be more money! There must be more money!”
Just that – beyond the rest of the tale - is an excellent demonstration of how the anxieties and unfulfilled desires of parents are telegraphed unfiltered to children who not only believe them wholeheartedly, but sensitive children often take it upon themselves to remedy the situation by any means open to them.
Such a venture is doomed to fail, as no matter what the child does – and Paul does an incredible amount! – the parent will never be happy nor satisfied. The whispering will never cease and it eventually drives the child into an emotional and psychological abyss.
Whether the rocking horse and Paul’s gift of clairvoyance are real or a metaphor for all the strain and suffering children will go through to relieve a parent they see suffering, is up to the individual reader. I tend to see it as both.
Read with the GR Short Story Club
July 27, 2024
I remember the story becoming more and more of an obsessive compulsive frenzy on the part of the rocking horse rider until unexpectedly I found myself caught up
in the midst of a horror. In fact, you soon realize the rocking horse is a fiery demonic force.
in the midst of a horror. In fact, you soon realize the rocking horse is a fiery demonic force.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2025
And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase: There must be more money! There must be more money! The children could hear it all the time though nobody said it aloud. They heard it at Christmas, when the expensive and splendid toys filled the nursery. (...) And the children would stop playing, to listen for a moment. They would look into each other’s eyes, to see if they had all heard. And each one saw in the eyes of the other two that they too had heard. “There must be more money! There must be more money!”
Escrito em 1926 e ainda a fazer sentido quase 100 depois, esta história sobre a ânsia de ter de mais dinheiro e mais bens materiais, em que essa pressão passa para as crianças da família, sobretudo para um rapazinho que tem um cavalo de balouço muito especial.
Escrito em 1926 e ainda a fazer sentido quase 100 depois, esta história sobre a ânsia de ter de mais dinheiro e mais bens materiais, em que essa pressão passa para as crianças da família, sobretudo para um rapazinho que tem um cavalo de balouço muito especial.
November 2, 2022
"There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck. . . Only she herself knew that at the center of her heart was a hard little place that could not feel love, no, not for anybody."
Paul's mother was a cold, upper-class woman who had to keep up the appearance of being wealthy although there was little money coming into the household. Even when she came into some money, she always spent more. She had expensive taste and the house seemed to be haunted by the phrase:
"There must be more money! There must be more money!."
Paul anxiously pursued a magical solution to the problem in a frenzied state. A rocking horse is an important symbol in the story. Even if one frantically rides and rides a rocking horse, it will go nowhere down the road. In the same way, a life spent thinking only about wealth, but with no love, is a ride to nowhere. "The Rocking-Horse Winner" has the feeling of a fable or fairy tale about conspicuous consumption.
Paul's mother was a cold, upper-class woman who had to keep up the appearance of being wealthy although there was little money coming into the household. Even when she came into some money, she always spent more. She had expensive taste and the house seemed to be haunted by the phrase:
"There must be more money! There must be more money!."
Paul anxiously pursued a magical solution to the problem in a frenzied state. A rocking horse is an important symbol in the story. Even if one frantically rides and rides a rocking horse, it will go nowhere down the road. In the same way, a life spent thinking only about wealth, but with no love, is a ride to nowhere. "The Rocking-Horse Winner" has the feeling of a fable or fairy tale about conspicuous consumption.
December 13, 2024
Lawrence takes a look at unsatiated greed, materialism, and pretension in the post WWI world.
Hester is never satisfied with the income she and her husband have at their disposal. She is another character (see Paul in Willa Cather's "Paul's Case" ) that doesn't equate work with money. Hester is not maternally inclined, and her children feel the lack. The son, Paul tries very hard to make up for the perceived lack of luck/money.
Lawrence's writing is brilliant. Though his narrator's tone is neutral, I feel the anxiety underlying every paragraph as I read.
Publication 1926
Hester is never satisfied with the income she and her husband have at their disposal. She is another character (see Paul in Willa Cather's "Paul's Case" ) that doesn't equate work with money. Hester is not maternally inclined, and her children feel the lack. The son, Paul tries very hard to make up for the perceived lack of luck/money.
Lawrence's writing is brilliant. Though his narrator's tone is neutral, I feel the anxiety underlying every paragraph as I read.
Publication 1926
November 13, 2022
**4.5 stars**
“Although they lived in style, they felt always an anxiety in the house. There was never enough money. The mother had a small income, and the father had a small income, but not nearly enough for the social position which they had to keep up. ”
Lawrence is mainly noted for his longer works like Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Sons and Lovers, which were once proclaimed ‘obscene’ but actually were quite ahead of their time, even for now. Considering the genre he usually wrote in, this tale is of completely different themes, a masterful blend of fantasy and melancholy which is narrated in a fable-ish way. Quite a deviation from the usual, and for good.
The story can be summed up as: a kid born of an unloving mother, in a down and out family starts betting on horse races, desperate to win his mother’s love and attention, and also wealth. However, he does all of these in an incomprehensible, mystical way that doesn’t, obviously end well. The loneliness, which a kid can suffer with no fault at all from his part, and how, actually money can control one’s emotions, are among the non-farcical themes of the story. The rest is ambiguous, and even though it’s never to be told a tale of magic-realism, it can well surpass many popular tales from that genre in terms of readability.
The story shows one thing to us, towering above all, and that is it’s never enough even for a kid. Greed really is something that can reveal itself from the youngest age. Though different in almost all aspects that can be spoken of, even this tale has that common theme from Lawrence’s usual: dehumanisation and deterioration of human values as a result of industrialisation and modernity.
I don’t think it can be categorised as horror, though. Definitely, it can be told haunting, even more so for me as I read it on a depressing day (last day of school). However, you can overthink the obvious, if you don’t care about a good night’s sleep. Can you guess how it ends? Yeah. I bet you can. But you will most probably end up loving this story. As for me, if it weren’t for this story, I won’t have read any more of his works, probably.
You can read the story here.
“"I don't know. Nobody ever knows why one person is lucky and another unlucky."
"Don't they? Nobody at all? Does nobody know?"
"Perhaps God. But He never tells."
"He ought to, then. And are'nt you lucky either, mother?"
"I can't be, it I married an unlucky husband."
"But by yourself, aren't you?"
"I used to think I was, before I married. Now I think I am very unlucky indeed."”
“Although they lived in style, they felt always an anxiety in the house. There was never enough money. The mother had a small income, and the father had a small income, but not nearly enough for the social position which they had to keep up. ”
Lawrence is mainly noted for his longer works like Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Sons and Lovers, which were once proclaimed ‘obscene’ but actually were quite ahead of their time, even for now. Considering the genre he usually wrote in, this tale is of completely different themes, a masterful blend of fantasy and melancholy which is narrated in a fable-ish way. Quite a deviation from the usual, and for good.
The story can be summed up as: a kid born of an unloving mother, in a down and out family starts betting on horse races, desperate to win his mother’s love and attention, and also wealth. However, he does all of these in an incomprehensible, mystical way that doesn’t, obviously end well. The loneliness, which a kid can suffer with no fault at all from his part, and how, actually money can control one’s emotions, are among the non-farcical themes of the story. The rest is ambiguous, and even though it’s never to be told a tale of magic-realism, it can well surpass many popular tales from that genre in terms of readability.
The story shows one thing to us, towering above all, and that is it’s never enough even for a kid. Greed really is something that can reveal itself from the youngest age. Though different in almost all aspects that can be spoken of, even this tale has that common theme from Lawrence’s usual: dehumanisation and deterioration of human values as a result of industrialisation and modernity.
I don’t think it can be categorised as horror, though. Definitely, it can be told haunting, even more so for me as I read it on a depressing day (last day of school). However, you can overthink the obvious, if you don’t care about a good night’s sleep. Can you guess how it ends? Yeah. I bet you can. But you will most probably end up loving this story. As for me, if it weren’t for this story, I won’t have read any more of his works, probably.
You can read the story here.
“"I don't know. Nobody ever knows why one person is lucky and another unlucky."
"Don't they? Nobody at all? Does nobody know?"
"Perhaps God. But He never tells."
"He ought to, then. And are'nt you lucky either, mother?"
"I can't be, it I married an unlucky husband."
"But by yourself, aren't you?"
"I used to think I was, before I married. Now I think I am very unlucky indeed."”
November 7, 2022
“And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase: 'There must be more money!’”
I love this little story. I love the theme that love can’t live peacefully with the drive for luck and money. I love the haunting of the story--the power of things that are felt in a family, even when they are unspoken. I love the momentum, how it gallops along to the end.
It’s told through a distant third person, making it feel like a fable, and when you’re done reading, sure enough, you’ve gained a little wisdom.
You can read it here: https://www.classicshorts.com/stories...
I love this little story. I love the theme that love can’t live peacefully with the drive for luck and money. I love the haunting of the story--the power of things that are felt in a family, even when they are unspoken. I love the momentum, how it gallops along to the end.
It’s told through a distant third person, making it feel like a fable, and when you’re done reading, sure enough, you’ve gained a little wisdom.
You can read it here: https://www.classicshorts.com/stories...
August 6, 2025
A woman living quite a comfortable life seems to believe she and her family are down on their luck, as they are 'short of money'. I didn't like this woman at all. You know the type? They're happy with what they've got. Anyway, she tells her young son about this apparent lack of luck, and this infuriates him. In fact, he tries to create his own luck by betting on the horses. Yes, the horses. He seems to 'hear' who will win certain horses and in conjunction with his uncle and the gardener, they make skme money.
This uninspiring story, combined with a talking house and a lucky rocking horse, made me wish I hadn't started this one.
2 Stars
This uninspiring story, combined with a talking house and a lucky rocking horse, made me wish I hadn't started this one.
2 Stars
June 7, 2016
A haunting story that sent a shudder through me at the end. This would have made a perfect episode of the old TV series "The Twilight Zone". Nevertheless, it was a first class fun read.
October 17, 2015
D.H. Lawrence's 1926 classic short story, The Rocking Horse Winner pulls at your heartstrings from the get-go and refuses to let go until its tragic culmination. As seen below, the opening paragraph does more than make for an emotional first impression, Lawrence's impressive and somehow beautiful prose sucks you in immediately, making it impossible to put down.
"There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck. She married for love, and the love turned to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them. They looked at her coldly, as if they were finding fault with her. And hurriedly she felt she must cover up some fault in herself. Yet what it was that she must cover up she never knew. Nevertheless, when her children were present, she always felt the centre of her heart go hard. This troubled her, and in her manner she was all the more gentle and anxious for her children, as if she loved them very much. Only she herself knew that at the centre of her heart was a hard little place that could not feel love, no, not for anybody. Everybody else said of her: "She is such a good mother. She adores her children." Only she herself, and her children themselves, knew it was not so. They read it in each other's eyes."
From there, it only gets better. The dialogue is spot-on, relevant, and lifelike. The pictures that Lawrence delivers to the reader is incredibly vivid, increasingly compelling (I couldn't finish it fast enough, really,) and though there are little details like the protagonist's "uncanny blue eyes" that are emphasized for whatever reason, every word serves a purpose. It never felt verbose or unnecessary. On the contrary, literally every word is essential.
I have no more to say, other than read it for yourself if you haven't. Even if you have (this was a re-read for me,) give it another go, it's totally worth it.
June 14, 2024
The whisper was everywhere, and therefore no one spoke it.
An unusual short story from D.H. Lawrence, one tinged with tragic humour, and the perils of obsession.
An unexpected tale from a sometimes heavy-handed author. Having read many other stories from Lawrence, this one surprised me.
An unusual short story from D.H. Lawrence, one tinged with tragic humour, and the perils of obsession.
An unexpected tale from a sometimes heavy-handed author. Having read many other stories from Lawrence, this one surprised me.
November 9, 2022
A dark story with supernatural overtones. After a talk about luck with his mother (the family is living beyond its means and the house calls to the boy about needing money) he rides his rocking horse until he can be sure of the name of the next race winner. His obsession in response to his mothers need for more money leads to a sad end.
February 19, 2024
I remember seeing an old film based on this story aeons ago. I’ve wanted to read it ever since. The written story was much shorter than the film. Our winner deserved better parents.
October 25, 2024
A very imaginative and brilliant short story!
July 21, 2025
A shortie. 3.8
I have never read a book like this before.
There must have been a good reason Lawrence chose this type of ending though Im not sure why.
I have never read a book like this before.
There must have been a good reason Lawrence chose this type of ending though Im not sure why.
September 17, 2020
I read this during my BA at University, and then again during the MA, when it was called upon again. As ever, I remember exactly where I was: I was bombing towards C. on a train from W. and as this haunting, almost terrifying, little story unfolded, the rocking and jolting train beneath me became all the more part of the narrative... A brilliant short story.
November 9, 2022
This is a fast paced short story with somewhat of a horror twist to it. Young Paul strives for his mother’s approval. This family is struggling financially yet the mother continues to “keep up with the Jones” as best she can using their meager means. She tells her son how different life would be and how much easier it would be if only they were lucky. So Paul sets out to “be lucky”, and he does so by riding his rocking horse until he “knows” which horse will win at the races.
Although Paul achieves, for the most part, this “lucky” run, and provides his mother with the winnings it is never enough for her, and she always wants more. Really the classic tale of morality gone awry. Paul’s incessant “riding” much like the rocking horse takes him no where, nor does he ever appear to find the love he craves from his mother. And therein lies the horror!
DHL again uses much symbolism in his writing to deliver an oft written about message. He does a fine job of getting his point across. And the writing of course is emotion filled and descriptive.
While I am somewhat of a newbie to these classics and have not yet developed a deeper sense to understanding of the finer details, these stories always seem to give one opportunity for great thought.
Although Paul achieves, for the most part, this “lucky” run, and provides his mother with the winnings it is never enough for her, and she always wants more. Really the classic tale of morality gone awry. Paul’s incessant “riding” much like the rocking horse takes him no where, nor does he ever appear to find the love he craves from his mother. And therein lies the horror!
DHL again uses much symbolism in his writing to deliver an oft written about message. He does a fine job of getting his point across. And the writing of course is emotion filled and descriptive.
While I am somewhat of a newbie to these classics and have not yet developed a deeper sense to understanding of the finer details, these stories always seem to give one opportunity for great thought.
August 24, 2023
‘There must be more money! Oh-h-h! There must be more money! Oh, now, now-w! Now-w-w there must be more money—more than ever! More than ever!’
We all need more and more money. But what do we do with what we already have? Greed is not good. Really? Betting is also not good. Really? If they are not good why do we do?... Means… Are we bad? We all are bad. That was a message. Perhaps!
A short tale on finding luck,
‘Now!’ he would silently command the snorting steed. ‘Now, take me to where there is luck. Now take me!’
But the path that was chosen to find luck brought affliction.
In my first story of D H Lawrence, I was impressed, how in such a short tale, the author conveyed what he wanted to, through objects, murmurs, and whispers.
Was that house haunted?
My tea has come. Last night it rained here.
September 18, 2022
➥ 4 Stars *:･ﾟ✧
Great, fun, unique fairytale-esque story with additional entertainment and giggle value. And I can definitely wring the meaning behind many parts of this book, loved it.
Great, fun, unique fairytale-esque story with additional entertainment and giggle value. And I can definitely wring the meaning behind many parts of this book, loved it.
Want to read
June 8, 2024The Greatest 25 Short Stories of All Time According to Forbes - #10: https://www.forbes.com/sites/entertai...
May 7, 2015
أحياناً أتمنى أشغل الكاميرا وأصور تعابير وجهي عند آخر سطر وأنشرها كريفيو.
لأنها أنسب طريقة لمعرفة مشاعري تماماً عن القصة، الشخصيات، والنهاية.
لم أكن أنوي "كالكثير من الكتب التي قرأتها" أن أقرأ قصص لورانس القصيرة خلال هذه الأيام، لقد قرأت عنه وعن اسلوبه وسرديته السلسلة جداً في كتاب how to read and why لكن لم أكن أشعر أبداَ برغبة في القراءة له لا لسبب سوى ان اسمه لم يعجبني xD ..
اليوم، عندما كُنت أتنقل من موقع لآخر، وجدت نفسي أمام عنوان القصة هذه، وفي لحظة ملل ورتابة شديدين ضغطت على search on google وقرأت القصة.
أو لنقل أن القصة قرأتني. لأن هذا هو التعبير الأصدق.
. هناك الكثير من المرايا، والأكثر منها هي التنبؤات التي تحملها.
تبدأ القصة عن أم وأطفالها الثلاثة، وذلك الشعور الصامت المعروف بينهم جميعاً، الذي لاينطق باسمه أحد، لكن الكل يسمعه طوال الوقت.
رحلة الطفل، تنبؤاته، رغبته واستبداله حياته بأمنيته كُله يريك بشكل مريع مايمكن أن يحدث أن جعلت ذلك الشيء الصامت يسيطر عليك دون مقاومة، دون توضيح لمقاصده أو أسبابه كأقل الأيمان.
كلمات باول في الصفحة الأخيرة آلمت قلبي، لقد رضي بأن يضحي بكل شيء لأجل الحصول على كلمة رضى، لأجل التأكيد على أنه لاينقص شيئاً عن غيره.
السرد رائع، التسلسل رائع، التنقل بين الحوارات وطريقة مخاطبة الشخصيات لبعضها مُذهل!
لن أتردد أن أقرأ باقي قصصه حتى وإن لم يعجبني اسمك يالورانس.
5\5
لأنها أنسب طريقة لمعرفة مشاعري تماماً عن القصة، الشخصيات، والنهاية.
لم أكن أنوي "كالكثير من الكتب التي قرأتها" أن أقرأ قصص لورانس القصيرة خلال هذه الأيام، لقد قرأت عنه وعن اسلوبه وسرديته السلسلة جداً في كتاب how to read and why لكن لم أكن أشعر أبداَ برغبة في القراءة له لا لسبب سوى ان اسمه لم يعجبني xD ..
اليوم، عندما كُنت أتنقل من موقع لآخر، وجدت نفسي أمام عنوان القصة هذه، وفي لحظة ملل ورتابة شديدين ضغطت على search on google وقرأت القصة.
أو لنقل أن القصة قرأتني. لأن هذا هو التعبير الأصدق.
. هناك الكثير من المرايا، والأكثر منها هي التنبؤات التي تحملها.
تبدأ القصة عن أم وأطفالها الثلاثة، وذلك الشعور الصامت المعروف بينهم جميعاً، الذي لاينطق باسمه أحد، لكن الكل يسمعه طوال الوقت.
رحلة الطفل، تنبؤاته، رغبته واستبداله حياته بأمنيته كُله يريك بشكل مريع مايمكن أن يحدث أن جعلت ذلك الشيء الصامت يسيطر عليك دون مقاومة، دون توضيح لمقاصده أو أسبابه كأقل الأيمان.
كلمات باول في الصفحة الأخيرة آلمت قلبي، لقد رضي بأن يضحي بكل شيء لأجل الحصول على كلمة رضى، لأجل التأكيد على أنه لاينقص شيئاً عن غيره.
السرد رائع، التسلسل رائع، التنقل بين الحوارات وطريقة مخاطبة الشخصيات لبعضها مُذهل!
لن أتردد أن أقرأ باقي قصصه حتى وإن لم يعجبني اسمك يالورانس.
5\5
November 20, 2016
Let me just start off by saying that I'm fiercely unafraid of criticizing and rejecting a classic. I'm not all that impressed by antiquity, nor do I feel the need to rate something highly just because it is a lauded piece of literature. So now that we have gotten that out the way, I must say that The Rocking Horse Winner is a lackluster tale, more akin to a fable, that blatantly and obtrusively tries to weave in morality within its plot with all the elegance of a T-Rex trying to make up a bed. (just picture it!)
The narrative suffers greatly from being depthless and of course, I do realize that this is a short story. Yet even shorts can do a good job of adding layers and profundity to a story, but this short decidedly doesn't put the slightest effort into accomplishing that feat. The writing was colorless, the characters went unexplained, and the plot and moral of the story was so obvious, really, it need not be written.
The narrative suffers greatly from being depthless and of course, I do realize that this is a short story. Yet even shorts can do a good job of adding layers and profundity to a story, but this short decidedly doesn't put the slightest effort into accomplishing that feat. The writing was colorless, the characters went unexplained, and the plot and moral of the story was so obvious, really, it need not be written.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 353 reviews