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The Rainbow
by Lawrence, D.H
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
Woodstock, Illinois, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1915. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Very Good, lacking the jacket. Blue-green buckram, toned at the spine, rubbed and slightly frayed at the edges, with gilt lettering on the spine, white ink library call at the foot. Square, bound with some reading wear, foxing at the endpapers, small bookplate from the Institute for Sex Research on the front endpaper, contemporaneous newspaper clipping about the book's suppression tipped-in on the verso of the half-title with related toning on the title page, vintage bookseller's catalog entry pasted on the verso of the rear endpaper. One of the rare copies that survived the book's suppression that took place just six weeks after its publication. Given the book's "obscene" nature, it's fitting this copy once belonged to the library at the Institute for Sex Research.
Synopsis
D.H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow follows three generations of the Brangwen family, with a particular focus on the sexual dynamics of, and relations between, the characters. Tom Brangwen, who is… let’s say “not the brightest,” succeeds to his father’s farm and falls in love with Lydia Lensky, a Polish widow; Anna, Lydia’s daughter (and Tom’s stepdaughter), marries Will, a distant relative of Tom’s; Anna and Will’s oldest daughter, Ursula, is a modern working woman. For Tom Brangwen’s generation sex happens, but between the lines. For Anna and Will, bodies are alluded to and desires described. By the time Ursula Brangwen is a young woman, sex is frequent and directly addressed. This depiction of sexual desire as a natural force — perhaps spiritual, even! — caused quite a stir upon The Rainbow’s publication. The novel was almost instantly removed from the shelves of bookstores across the UKcountry and was then prosecuted in an obscenity trial in a British Magistrates’ court in November 1915, just two months after its release. As a result, roughly half of the copies of the novel’s original print run of were seized and burnt. The Rainbow was unavailable in the UK for 11 years following. Lawrence initially conceived The Rainbow and what became its sequel, Women in Love, as a single novel titled The Sisters. However, after much revision, that manuscript became two of the author’s greatest novels. The Rainbow is ranked 48th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century; Women in Love is ranked 49th.
Read More: Identifying first editions of The Rainbow
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Details
- Bookseller
- Carpetbagger Books, IOBA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 7764
- Title
- The Rainbow
- Author
- Lawrence, D.H
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Methuen & Co. Ltd
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1915
- Keywords
- English Literature, British Literature, 20th Century Literature, Sexuality, Sex, Lesbian, LGBT, Censorship, Banned Books
Terms of Sale
Carpetbagger Books, IOBA
All items are returnable for a refund within 30 days of receipt.
About the Seller
Carpetbagger Books, IOBA
Biblio member since 2018
Woodstock, Illinois
About Carpetbagger Books, IOBA
Based in the far northwest reaches of the Chicago suburbs, Carpetbagger Books specializes in literary fiction and modern firsts. Inventory is updated weekly, if not more frequently, so browse often. If you are after something particular, don't hesitate to communicate: not all inventory is uploaded online.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Buckram
- A plain weave fabric normally made from cotton or linen which is stiffened with starch or other chemicals to cover the book...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
Frequently asked questions
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