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Three generations of the Brangwen family in the Erewash Valley, as industry spreads across the country

The Rainbow

by D. H. Lawrence

1915464 pagesModerate readSlow pace
★ Modern Library 100 Best Novels (editors' list, 1998), No. 48

Three generations of a farming family as industry spreads around them

The novel follows three generations of the Brangwen family: Tom, his wife Lydia, their daughter Anna and her husband Will, and Ursula. They are a farming and craft family in the Erewash Valley, on the borders of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, from roughly the 1840s to 1905. It traces how their love relationships change as the surrounding society becomes more industrial. Methuen published it in 1915.

More about this book

Who

Tom, Lydia, Anna, Will and Ursula Brangwen.

World

The Erewash Valley, on the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire border, roughly the 1840s to 1905.

What makes it different

In November 1915 it was prosecuted for obscenity, and 1,011 copies were seized and burnt. It was unavailable in Britain for 11 years, and its sequel is Women in Love.

Feel

Rich and searching.

See it on Amazon

Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition

Further reading

About the author

D. H. Lawrence3 books on Tori Books