With beautiful prose and defined characters, England, My England is a
collection of ten works of short fiction written by the provocative and
controversial author, D.H. Lawrence. Many of these stories are set
during and revolve around World War Ⅰ, such as Wintry Peacock. When
her husband goes off to war, a woman finds herself moving in with her
in-laws as she eagerly waits for his return. Around the time he is meant
to come home, a letter arrives for him, written in French. Sent by the
husband's mistress, the letter details the affair he had, and that the
mistress was with child because of it. Though the letter also warned of
the mistress's plans to move to England with her baby to be with the
husband, the wife was unable to translate the French, leading to a
situation of unfortunate misdirect and miscommunication. Other stories
among this collection focus on the unfair societal expectations of
women. You Touched Me follows the story of an adopted son and dying
patriarch blackmailing an eldest daughter into marrying the son. Samson
and Delilah depicts the complicated reunion of a husband and wife after
the husband had abandoned his wife and newborn child fifteen years
prior. Fannie and Annie excellently portrays the societal pressure for
women to settle for less as it depicts Fannie, a well-educated woman,
returning to her hometown to marry an unmotivated man who has illicit
affairs with other women. Exploring the opposite perspective of a
similar situation, The Primrose Path inspects the consequences of a
man who lives a fleeting lifestyle--jumping from place to place, job to
job, and woman to woman. Features themes of love, feminism, and
sexuality, D.H. Lawrence explores complicated relationships during the
20th century amid a world war and unjust and harmful social
expectations. England, My England explores issues of society with a
dark and biting tone, creating narratives that are not easily forgotten,
and relate to ever-present human struggles. This edition of England, My
England by D.H. Lawrence features a new eye-catching cover design and
is printed in a font that is both modern and readable to cater to a
contemporary audience.
