The Letters of D. H. Lawrence: Volume 4, June 1921–March 1924 (The Cambridge Edition of the Letters of D. H. Lawrence) - Hardcover

Lawrence, D. H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521231132 ISBN 13: 9780521231138

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1987

Synopsis

This volume contains 848 letters from the period June 1921 to March 1924. Lawrence decides to leave the old world - 'my heart - and my soul are broken in Europe' - to live in Taos, New Mexico. This period is characterised by the travelling he and Frieda do, from Australia to New York, via Mexico, back to England and finally to New York again. Lawrence's writings of the period reflect his restlessness. The action of Aaron's Rod shifts from a coal-mining town in England to Florence and Kangaroo conveys Lawrence's perceptions of Australia. By 1924, Lawrence is returning to Taos to write his Mexican novel, 'Quetzacoatl', published as The Plumed Serpent. His difficulties with agents and publishers continue to appear in the letters. New correspondences are started with Australians, including Mollie Skinner, the co-author of The Boy in the Bush, and Americans, such as Mabel Luhan, Idella Purnell and Witter Bynner.

About this title

Book Description

The 848 letters collected here, written between June 1921 to March 1924, are characterised by the travelling he and Frieda do. Lawrence's writings of the period reflect his restlessness. The action of Aaron's Rod shifts from a coal-mining town in England to Florence and Kangaroo conveys Lawrence's perceptions of Australia.

From Library Journal

Lawrence wrote the 763 letters in this volume in the last 15 months of his life. Most of the letters are previously unpublished; many more are available only in incomplete texts. A large number concern "business," and Lawrence's poor health noticeably saps his energy. The letters are also shadowed by Lawrence's growing awareness that he would die before reaching his 45th birthday. Still, the characteristic Lawrentian spirit is here in abundance. The letters are masterfully but unobtrusively edited by Sagar and Boulton, two English academics. It's fair to say that they know more about Lawrence's life than he knew himself. Volume 8 will mainly provide a comprehensive index to the over 5500 letters of the first seven volumes. This edition of Lawrence's letters will stand as a monument of modern literary scholarship; all research collections should own it.
- Keith Cushman, Univ. of North Carolina, Greensboro
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0521231132
• ISBN 13: 9780521231138
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 656
• Editor: Roberts Warren, Boulton James T., Mansfield Elizabeth