D. H. LAWRENCE, DAVID HERBERT
D. H. Lawrence Unpublished Autograph Letter Signed discussing "Women in Love."
D. H. Lawrence reacts to the public response to his 1921 novel, "Women in Love." Autograph Letter Signed, Two pages on one 4to sheet, Taorimina, Sicily, Nov. 9, 1921. Lawrence writes, "the middle class readers have tried so hard to insult me for Women in Love. " The letter also offers personal information about Lawrence's current circumstances. He begins, “I thought at first your letter was a legal document: then I thought it was somebody pulling my leg…but…you really mean it….” This seems to be a reply to a Mr. Clark who must have said something positive about “Women in Love,” a pleasant surprise to Lawrence. He writes, "the middle class readers have tried so hard to insult me for Women in Love, that I am quite glad to get your letter and feel that there is somebody who can read it as I imagined it might be read.” Not knowing who Clark is, Lawrence continues, "Write again if you choose...If you wish, tell me who & what you are. For my own part - I was born in the working classes - am 36 years old, have a wife - live here in Sicily in the winter & move about in the summer - earn perhaps £400 a year all told by my writing….” Signed, “D. H. Lawrence.”.
While not stated, it is possible that "Mr. Clark" is John Clark, export bookseller at 12 Ludgate Square, London who around this time asked for copies of Lawrence’s books to be sent to Toronto and London as noted in “The Letters of D.H. Lawrence ” (Cambridge University Press edition of 2000, page 520). This same Mr. Clark also placed orders for works of James Joyce with the Paris bookstore, Shakespeare and Co. in 1922. If Clark liked “Women in Love” as much as this letter implies, then it is possible that he promoted the book and received orders for it. In 1921, Lawrence was living with his wife, Frieda, at Fontana Vecchia on the outskirts of Taormina in Sicily. It was in 1921 that “Women in Love” was published in America by Thomas Seltzer and in England with Secker. Condition: Repair across centerfold, some chipping at right margin above centerfold.
Item #4101
Price: $5,700.00