Reading erotic fiction can be incredibly exciting. Not only do novels like these have interesting plots and character developments, but they’re also full of great sex scenes. Moreover, reading a book like “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” while all by yourself can prove to be more fun than watching porn or masturbating.
This 1928 novel is a classic when it comes to love, romance, and sex in literature. But unlike modern books of similar content, publishing such work wasn’t as easy back in the early 20th century. Therefore, we’ll tell you a bit more about D.H. Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover.” From its origin and synopsis to the publishing controversy, you’re in for a ton of surprises!
The Author
English writer and poet David Herbert Lawrence was born in Eastwood in 1885. Lawrence had a rather difficult childhood, living in poor conditions with his siblings and parents, who were working-class people. His father was a miner, while his mother was a teacher but had to do manual jobs for financial reasons. These experiences would prove to be pretty influential in his later work.
In his early years, his love of nature could only match his interest in literature. Being a fairly bright child, he went on to study at Nottingham University College. That’s where he got his teaching certificate in 1908 and began writing his early poems and the first draft of his other famous novel — “The White Peacock.”
Just like with his peers, the leading influences on his work were the contrast between industrialization and nature. His work would usually talk about the dehumanizing effect of the modern age while cherishing the gentleness and honesty of life and spontaneity. Also, revolutionary for his time, sexuality was a big part of his works.
Besides “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” D.H. Lawrence wrote “Sons and Lovers,” “The Rainbow,” and “Women in Love.” Likewise, his bibliography is full of poems, reviews, essays, and short stories. He spent the later years of his life in self-imposed exile and confrontation with publishers and the British authorities. He died young from tuberculosis at 44 years of age in France in 1930.
What the Novel Is About
The novel begins with the introduction of our female protagonist, Connie Reid. Coming from an upper-class family, she’s a bohemian of sorts. Her ideas of love are intertwined with love affairs, passion, and desire. Still young, she marries a wealthy aristocrat Sir Clifford Chatterley who soon after goes to serve in the First World War.
Unfortunately, Clifford returns from war paralyzed from the waist down and impotent. His disability leads him to pursue a successful writing career, but it only makes the distance between him and Lady Chatterley bigger. And as his work gains more traction, their mansion begins to fill up with all sorts of characters. This leads Connie to cheat on her impotent husband with one of his friends.
While Clifford begins to bond in an infantile way with the nurse who makes sure he’s okay, Connie longs more and more for real human contact. Eventually, she comes across Oliver Mellors. Back from the war too, Oliver is the opposite of her impotent husband. He’s a gamekeeper on their estate but noble and graceful.
The two have sex in a cabin in the woods near their estate and begin a regular affair. She soon becomes pregnant with him and confesses to her husband. He refuses to divorce her, and Oliver gets fired. In the end, they’re still in love but keep waiting for both of their lawful partners to allow them to pursue their happiness.
Why Was It Controversial
Unlike other books at the time, “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” was full of explicit sexual content. Aside from depicting intimacy in detail, Lawrence also used the word “fuck,” which was unthinkable at the time. It was published secretly in Italy in 1928, but an official publication wasn’t to come until the 1960s when Penguin Books printed it.
Both men and women went bonkers for it, and it sold 200,000 copies on the first day. Later on, the number moved surpassed a million copies, proving to be commercially successful due to all the controversy surrounding it. But while people were reading it like crazy, there was a lawsuit going on under the Obscene Publications Act of 1959. Luckily for the readers, Penguin Books won, and the rest is history.
How Racy Were the Scenes?
But why was “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” controversial? Well, nowadays, you can’t say sex scenes in the book are anything special. But at the time of the book’s publication, they were pretty brave. Either way, they’re high-quality and can serve as inspiration for all sorts of naughty things you can do in your life. Moreover, you can check out some movie and TV adaptations as some are quite interesting when it comes to adultery and sex.
Role-playing in the style of Lady Chatterley can be as awesome as anything current and modern. The relationship between an upper-class lady and a working man trope is still in use today in all sorts of adult content. Sure, Lawrence wasn’t the first one to think about it, but he gave a great story alongside this affair-type fantasy.
In case you’re looking for details, you can check some excerpts online. This way, you’ll get to know the controversial scenes in “Lady Chatterley’s Lover.” Furthermore, you’ll see how racy and naughty the scenes are before you decide to buy the book. Anyway, we highly recommend D.H. Lawrence’s last novel for anyone who’s into erotic literature.