Women in Love - 1922

D.H. Lawrence’s Women in Love, the sequel to The Rainbow (1915), was published in 1920. However, these novels, two of the author’s greatest, were initially conceived as a single work. Women in Love continues The Rainbow’s story of the Brangwen family, focusing namely on the lives and loves of sisters Ursula and Gudren. Urusula, a teacher, becomes romantically involved with Rupert Birkin, a school inspector with some unconventional ideas and attitudes; Gurdren, an artist, becomes involved with Gerald Crich, an industrialist and coal mine heir. Drawn together by a number of incidents, all four yearn for fulfillment, but struggle to avoid destruction in the process.

Getting Women in Love published proved to be a challenge following The Rainbow’s obscenity trial, which resulted in the novel’s being unavailable in the UK for over a decade after. Unsurprisingly, Methuen & Co., publisher of The Rainbow, backed out of publishing Women in Love. But after three long years of delays and extensive revisions, Thomas Seltzer published Women in Love in New York City. Women in Love is ranked 49th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century; The Rainbow is ranked 48th.

New York City-based Thomas Seltzer first published Women in Love in November 1920. Because of controversy with The Rainbow, the blue cloth-bound first edition of Women in Love was published in a limited print run of 1,250 numbered copies that were available only to subscribers. Twenty-five copies of the first edition are signed by Lawrence, seemingly at random, and have sold for upwards of $25,000.