Monday, August 28, 2017

Book of the Day: Mr Lawrence's Naughty Novel




2016 saw a new BBC production of D.H. Lawrence’s novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover. They said what was fresh about this outing was a hot cast and- novelty among novelties- removal of nearly all the realistically naughty language about sex that got the book banned in Britain and the UK for a quarter of a century:

Director Jed Mercurio, who also wrote the adaptation, maintains that there’s no justification these days for bad language. The words that got the book banned for 30 years have lost their original purpose, which was to de-smut sex. This seems sensible.

And, in a way, it does. When the book was issued in 1930, Lawrence used terminology known to most, but denied by the upper and ruling classes, among whose duties was to try to set- and maintain- standards for the plebs.

In 87 years, life has gone on, and the easily offended have moved on to easy new offenders. But Lawrence’s landmark remains a classic, and deservedly so. And Henry Bemis Books has a very good first American edition of the book available:


Lawrence, D. H., Lady Chatterly’s Lover (Grove Press, 1st U.S. ed., “Original Unexpurgated Version”, 1959). “This edition is the third manuscript version, first published by Giuseppe Orioli, Florence, 1928.” With an introduction by Mark Schorer and a preface by Archibald MacLeish.

This novel about a woman with the temerity to find a life without sex- her husband was disabled in The Great War- caused decades of fuss and scandal in most of the English-speaking world. Reading it now, it's remarkable to imagine why people got up on their hind legs so about it, and it's pleasing to be able to read it for its considerable literary merit.

In an early instance of congressional Republican literary criticism, Utah Senator Reed Smoot declared in 1930, "I've not taken ten minutes on Lady Chatterley's Lover, outside of looking at its opening pages. It is most damnable! It is written by a man with a diseased mind and a soul so black that he would obscure even the darkness of hell!"
The American poet Ogden Nash wrote, in response,
Senator Smoot (Republican, Ut.)
Is planning a ban on smut.
Oh rooti-ti-toot for Smoot of Ut.
And his reverend occiput.
Smite, Smoot, smite for Ut.,
Grit your molars and do your dut.,
Gird up your l__ns,
Smite h_p and th_gh,
We'll all be Kansas
By and by....

At its 1960 obscenity publication trial in the United Kingdom, the prosecutor summed up with the question that would, doubtless, have echoed through the drawing rooms of Downton Abbey: “Is this the sort of book you would wish your wife or servants to read?”


And the jury, to paraphrase Lawrence, replied "Fuck, yeah!"

Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket. Blue cloth spine over cream-colored paper boards; gilt lettering. Dust jacket very good with light wear along the edging. 8.5” x. 5.25”, 368 pp. HBB price: $175 obo.

_______________________


Henry Bemis Books is one man’s attempt to bring more diversity and quality to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg market of devoted readers starved for choices. Our website is at www.henrybemisbookseller.blogspot.com. Henry Bemis Books is also happy to entertain reasonable offers on items in inventory; for pricing on this or others items, kindly private message us. Shipping is always free to US locations; local buyers are welcome to drop by and pick up their purchases at our location off Peachtree Road in Northwest Charlotte if they like.

We accept electronic payments via Facebook Messenger, powered by Stripe.

We regret that until California Assembly Bill 1570 (2016) is struck down by court order or amended to relieve out of state booksellers from its recordkeeping and liability burdens, we are unable to do business with California residents.

We offer 25% off to fellow dealers.

What’s your favorite social media outlet? We’re blogging at www.henrybemisbookseller.blogspot. com. We tweet as Henry Bemis Books. Have you liked us on Facebook yet? Henry Bemis Books is there, too. And Google+!

You can also see Henry’s alter ego, Lindsay Thompson, on a three weekly Facebook Live programs: Rare Book Cafe, a 2:30-3:30 pm EDT Saturday panel show about books; Book Week- Rare Book Cafe’s weekly Thursday noon news program (both on Rare Book Cafe’s Facebook page); and Gallimaufry, an occasional program about literary history on Henry Bemis Books’ Facebook page.

#RareBooks #HenryBemisBooks #LadyChatterleysLover

No comments:

Post a Comment

We enjoy hearing from visitors! Please leave your questions, thoughts, wish lists, or whatever else is on your mind.