Becket Fiona - D. H. Lawrence

D. H. LAWRENCE: THE CRITICAL HERITAGE

The Critical Heritage series collects together a large body of criticism on major figures in literature. Each volume presents the contemporary responses to a particular writer, enabling the student to follow the formation of critical attitudes to the writers work and its place within a literary tradition.

The carefully selected sources range from landmark essays in the history of criticism to fragments of contemporary opinion and little published documentary material, such as letters and diaries.

Significant pieces of criticism from later periods are also included in order to demonstrate fluctuations in reputation following the writers death.

First published in 1970

Reprinted 1997 and 2001 by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

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Transferred to Digital Printing 2006

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

Compilation, introduction, notes and index 1970 R. P. Draper

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

ISBN 0-415-15922-9

The reception given to a writer by his contemporaries and nearcontemporaries is evidence of considerable value to the student of literature. On one side we learn a great deal about the state of criticism at large and in particular about the development of critical attitudes towards a single writer; at the same time, through private comments in letters, journals or marginalia, we gain an insight upon the tastes and literary thought of individual readers of the period. Evidence of this kind helps us to understand the writer's historical situation, the nature of his immediate reading-public, and his response to these pressures.

The separate volumes in the Critical Heritage Series present a record of this early criticism. Clearly for many of the highly-productive and lengthily-reviewed nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers, there exists an enormous body of material; and in these cases the volume editors have made a selection of the most important views, significant for then intrinsic critical worth or for their representative qualityperhaps even registering incomprehension!

For earlier writers, notably pre-eighteenth century, the materials are much scarcer and the historical period has been extended, sometimes far beyond the writers lifetime, in order to show the inception and growth of critical views which were initially slow to appear

In each volume the documents are headed by an Introduction, discussing the material assembled and relating the early stages of the authors reception to what we have come to identify as the critical tradition. The volumes will make available much material which would otherwise be difficult of access and it is hoped that the modern reader will be thereby helped towards an informed understanding of the ways in which literature has been read and judged.

B.C.S.

I wish to thank the following for permission to reprint copyright extracts or complete items from the sources listed below:

Charles Scribners Sons for Critical Woodcuts by Stuart Sherman: 1912/1924/1922/1913 by the New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission: Richard Aldington, the Saturday Review and Mme. Catherine Guillaume for D. H. Lawrence as Poet by Richard Aiding-ton: Messrs. William Heinemann, the Estate of the late Mrs. Frieda Lawrence, and Lawrence Pollinger Ltd, for The Complete Short Stories of D. H. Lawrence, Sea and Sardinia, Lady Chatterleys Lover, The Rainbow, Sons and Lovers, Women in Love, The Letters of D. H. Lawrence, A Propos of Lady Chatterleys Lover, The Short Novels of D. H. Lawrence: The Teacher, for article by H. Yoxall appearing in Schoolmaster: The Times/Times Literary Supplement for articles, nos. 2, 31, 40, 55, 60, 62, 77, 83, 85, 89 (all unsigned): Associated Newspapers Ltd. for articles from the Daily Chronicle, by Violet Hunt, Harold Massingham, for articles from Daily News by Robert Lynd and no. 6 (unsigned); for article from the Westminster Gazette, no. 16 (unsigned); for article by James Douglas in Star; for articles from the Guardian by Allan Monkhouse and Edward Garnett: The society of Authors as the literary representative of the Estate of John Middleton Murry for extracts from his reviews on D. H. Lawrence: The Society of Authors as the literary representative of the Estate of John Galsworthy for his letter to J. B. Pinker: The Society of Authors as the literary representative of the Estate of Katherine Mansfield for her extract from The Scrapbook: The Society of Authors as the literary representative of the Estate of Lascelles Abercrombie for his review of Sons and Lovers: copyright New York Herald Tribune for reviews by Katherine Anne Porter and Mark Van Doren in New York Herald Tribune Books: Rosemary Manning for Alyse Gregorys review in Dial: My fanwy Thomas for Edward Thomas review in Bookman: Mrs. Valerie Eliot for permission to reprint an excerpt from The Contemporary Novel by T. S. Eliot (original English text of Le Roman Anglais Contemporain), and his review of J. M. Murrys Sou of Woman: reprinted by permission of New York Post 1923, New York Post Corporation for Stuart Shermans review in New York Evening Post Literary Review: published by courtesy of the Daily Telegraph for reviews in Morning Post (Nos. 4 and Io, unsigned); the New Statesman for review in Athenaeum (unsigned, no. 8); for reviews in Nation by Edwin Muir, and unsigned, nos. 14 and 20; for reviews in New Statesman by J. C. Squire, John Franklin, Edward Sackville West, T. W. Earp and, unsigned, no. 87; for Nation and Atheneum review by E. M. Forster: reprinted by permission of Ezra Pound and Faber and Faber Ltd., review by Ezra Pound of D. H. Lawrences Love Poems and Others in New Freewoman: the Evening Standard for articles by Arnold Bennett and nos. 15 and 25 (unsigned): Illustrated Newspapers Ltd. for Clement Shorters review in the Sphere: the Glasgow Herald for Catherine Carswells review and the Glasgow Heralds obituary of D. H. Lawrence: Mr. David Garnett for Art and the Moralists: Mr. D. H. Lawrences Work by Edward Garnett, from Friday Nights, published by Jonathan Cape: Conrad Aiken for his review of `Look! We have Come Through! in Dial: Signe Toksvig (Mrs. Francis Hackett) for two reviews by the late Francis Hackett: the Editor of Poetry for review by John Gould Fletcher, copyright 1919 by the Modern Poetry Association: Mrs. Dorothea M. Shanks for Mr. D. H. Lawrence: Some Characteristics, by Edward Shanks: the Spectator for articles by L. P. Hartley and no. 57 (unsigned): the Foundation for Economic Education, Inc., for Edwin Muirs review in the Freewoman: V. S. Pritchett for his review in Fortnightly Review: Editions Gallimard for the Preface by Andr Malraux to the French edition of Lady Chatterleys Lover: Mr. Raglan Squire and the Observer for review by J. C. Squire; Mr. E. M. Forster and The Listener for text of broadcast talk by Mr. Forster: Curtis Brown Ltd. for Reputations by Douglas Goldring: Mr. Louis Untermeyer for his article in New Republic.

I have tried to locate the copyright owners for each extract, but I regret that this has not been possible in every instance. My debt to such Lawrence scholars as Harry T. Moore and Warren Roberts, and to the late Edward Nehls is necessarily extensive, and I gladly acknowledge this. I also owe a particular debt to those scholars who have worked on the history of Lawrence criticism, among whom I am especially grateful to Mr. John Wor then for allowing me to make use of his researches into the critical reception of Lawrences earlier novels. Miss Lucy Edwards of the Nottingham Public Library and the staff of the University of Leicester Library have given me much help in locating and collecting not only the extracts here reprinted, but also the much larger number that had to be studied before this selection could be made; and I should like to thank the University of Leicester for a research grant which enabled me to make visits to many other libraries.