What in the World (8)
ENTERTAINMENT
LITERATURE 2
LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER by D.H. LAWRENCE
The novel was first published privately in Italy in 1928 and France the following year.
It was not published openly in the UK until 1960 when the publishers, Penguin Books were charged under the Obscene Publications Act of 1959.
The plot involves the class division prevalent in the UK at the end of WW1 and the affair between Lady Chatterley and gamekeeper Mellors. Interest in the explicit sex descriptions overrode the merits of this classic novel in public opinion of the time.
The trial in the Old Bailey No. 1 court took place over six days in Oct and Nov 1960. The jury had to decide if the book would deprave or corrupt and were asked to consider if they would let their wives or their servants read it.
After three hours of deliberation the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
The book was in great demand by the general public in the early 60s.
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