Selected Stories [Paperback]

D.H Lawrence (1885-1930) won fame for his novels such as "Sons and Lovers", "The Rainbow,"; "Women in Love," and Lady Chatterly's Lover" among others. He is also an excellent teller of tales as these sixteen stories exhibit. The stories are:
1. Love Among the Haystacks-Two brothers fight and love as they work among the haystacks of their family farm near Nottingham. Lawrence does well in his use of dialect in this Hardyesque tale.
2. The Miner at Home-Lawrence was the son of a miner and knows well the environment of a miner's home. In this very short tale a miner and his wife discuss the impending strike of workers at the mine site.
3. The White Stocking-The Whistons are a happily married newlywed couple until her former boss Sam Adams sends Mrs. Whiston gifts and notes. Will the couple remain together or separate? Another Lawrence tale of how a paradise can be quickly invaded by a snake!
4. Odor of Chrysanthemums-One of the saddest short stories in English Literature. It portrays a miner's wife learning of his death in an accident as she deals with her mother-in-law's grief and her mixed feelings towards her late wastrel husband.
5. New Eve and Old Adam-An Italian couple have a miserable sex life drifting apart. A tale of broken relationship in marriage.
6. Vin Ordinaire-Bachmann is a German soldier in World War I. He deserts and is captured but not before encountering a brief love affair.
7. The Prussian Officer (aka Honor and Arms" tells the story of a sadistic
Captain who torments an enlisted man in the German Army during World War There are homosexual hints throughout the story which ends in tragedy.
8. England, My England-Winifred and Evelyn are unhappily married. Evelyn enlists as Great Britain declares war against Germany. He is killed on the front having left a henpecked miserable life for death in France.
9. The Horse-Dealer's Daughter-Mabel Henry and her brothers must carve out a life following the death of their horse-dealing father. He has left the siblings penniless. Mabel, on the brink of spinsterhood, jumps in a lake to end it all but is rescued by a young doctor. The couple are soon wed. The happy end of an excellent short story!
10. The Blind Man-Isabel Pervin's husband was blinded in the trenches returning home to a life on the couple's isolated farm. And then a friend of hers comes to visit. Will Isabel remain faithful to her husband or become infatuated with the smoothie from the big city named Maurice? An intriguing tale.
11. Adolf-Adolf is the feral rabbit who is captured by a Nottingham miner as a gift for his children. The children care for the wild pet who causes havoc in the house. A delightful story in which Lawrence remembers his childhood. The rabbit is a symbol of nature in which animals live free though they are pursued to the death by human beings.
12. The Last Straw-Fanny is a country girl who has worked in domestic service in the big city. She returns home to marry her old swain Bill. He is notable only for his crude but effective singing in church. An old flame arrives during a worship service to the embarrasment of all. How will Fanny react to this unexpected development. This story reminds the reviewer of a Thomas Hardy tale of working class people.
13. Sun-A British middle class woman leaves her dessicated London husband to relish the sun. Lawrence wanted humanity to be free in nature. The Sun pulls an ordinary woman into a new life.
14. The Rocking-Horse Winner-This famous macabre tale tells of a young tyke who can predict race winners whilst riding his wooden rocking horse. An unusual story which will keep your interest.
15. The Man Who Loved Islands-A jaded sophisticate seeks to escape from the hustle and bustle of civilization by retreating to a sylvan paradise.
His quest is Quixotic.
16. Things-A spoiled rich couple treat things as people and people as things. They are entrapped by the baubles of life in a materialistic culture.

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