'Peter Preston has written and made thoroughly accessible to its readers a book which no-one working on Lawrence can now afford to have far from their work-table. How ever did we live without it? It has become, at a stroke, indispensable.' - John Worthen, D H Lawrence Society's Newsletter 'It creates a most absorbing chronological sequence out of materials brought together from an extremely wide variety of sources, in a very effective and professional way.' - Nicola Ceramella This volume traces the progress of Lawrence's life from its beginnings in the English Midlands through his world-wide travelling until his death in 1930. Details of the composition of his works in many forms and of the controversies that often followed their publication are included. Drawing on information from recent scholarly editions of his letters and works, it also offers details of his wide reading, and his relationships with figures as varied as E.M. Forster, Bertrand Russell, Katherine Mansfield, Lady Ottoline Morell and Aldous Huxley.
Peter John Preston is a British journalist and author. He was educated at Loughborough Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford, where he edited the student paper Cherwell. He has received honorary degrees from the City University, London and the University of Leicester (2003).
He joined The Guardian in 1963 and was editor for twenty years, from 1975 to 1995. He continues as a prolific columnist addressing a wide range of political and social issues, also contributing a weekly column devoted mainly to news about newspapers, their readers and (generally) diminishing circulations in The Observer's "business and media" section. He was a member of the Scott Trust from 1979 to 2003, Chairman of the International Press Institute from 1995 to 1997, and Chairman of the Association of British Press Editors.
He is perhaps best known for the investigative reporting into Conservative MPs, including the perjurious Jonathan Aitken and brown-envelope-receiving Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith, begun while he was editor of The Guardian.