Lady Chatterley’s Lover in Never too Late to Read Classics

Mar 16, 2017 Jen from Quebec :0) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-the-audio-book, books-i-ve-been-putting-off, favorites-life-changers, favorites, classics-i-ve-read, aty-challenge, reading-challenge-books, treasure-dig-challenge

I FINALLY FINALLY have read this book! It's been on my TBR since oh....college! I can understand why it was banned, for it DOES talk very frankly about sex and affairs and nudity and orgasms, and all that sexual stuff; BUT the book is not just something you read for a little thrill, skimming for the 'dirty parts'. (Of which there are plenty). The book is more abut society, the class system in England and the stations that people are born into/rise up to/fall from. Lady Chatterley herself is a 'L I FINALLY FINALLY have read this book! It's been on my TBR since oh....college! I can understand why it was banned, for it DOES talk very frankly about sex and affairs and nudity and orgasms, and all that sexual stuff; BUT the book is not just something you read for a little thrill, skimming for the 'dirty parts'. (Of which there are plenty). The book is more abut society, the class system in England and the stations that people are born into/rise up to/fall from. Lady Chatterley herself is a 'Lady' after all, a title that means something. She lives with Clifford, her husband at Wragby Hall, and they are an established couple of the elite in their town. Clifford returns from the war handicapped from the waist down, and thus they renew their married life as a chaste couple. (Not that Clifford had ever been much of a lover anyways). It takes Connie (Lady C) meeting up with Mellors- the gameskeeper of their estate to awaken her sexuality. Despite his being of a lower station than her, they begin an affair and for the first time, Lady C (Connie) realizes just how great sex can be. Mellors awakens her appetites. But The SCANDAL of it all! To sleep with another rich man would be one thing, but a COMMONER? Big NO. Then, Lady C starts thinking about having a baby with him, so she can produce an heir for Clifford and his estate, then her entire family finds out about them, THEN Mellors' WIFE finds out about them, and THEN the hard choices must be made. Will Connie give up her titles and elite status for a life of love and passion? Will Clifford grant her a divorce? Will Mellors' pride allow him to live with a woman who has more money than he does? (An idea he loathes) All will be answered. This book is worth reading for the social commentary alone. Both Clifford and Connie (and sometimes even Mellors) refer to the working class as 'walking corpses', 'wastes of space' and other such disdainful remarks about England's working class. This novel really shows the 2 different worlds that were co-existing in the early 1900's in England. It can teach readers a lot about 'class warfare' in between some pretty steamy sexual moments! I loved it, and am glad that the 'Catching up on Classics' group here on GReads decided to make it one of our books to read. --Jen from Quebec :0) ...more

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Nov 21, 2023 Amy rated it liked it

For the longest time, I didn't know realize this book was written by a man, until I started reading & decided to go back to the forward that I had skipped. About 40 pages in or so, I thought for sure it was written by a woman. The beginning of the book had some beautiful writing about women vs. men & their different internal experiences of sex. It was quite brilliant how D.H. Lawrence got into the mind of a woman. Unfortunately, that didn't last too long. There was a definite switch in the writi ...more

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