First published in 1920, D. H. Lawrence’s “Women in Love” is the sequel to his 1915 novel “The Rainbow” and is widely considered one of his best works and one of the most important English novels of the twentieth century. “Women in Love” continues to follow the Brangwen family, focusing on the lives and loves of sisters Gudrun and Ursula Brangwen. Living in the Midlands of England during the 1910’s, Ursula is a teacher and Gudrun is an artist. The sisters meet two men who live nearby, Rupert Birkin and Gerald Crich, the four find that they have much in common and the sisters soon get involved with them romantically. Rupert and Ursula are at first friends, but develop a loving relationship and eventually become engaged. Gudrun pursues a romantic relationship with Gerald, a local industrialist, but their romance is stormy and tumultuous and ultimately ends in tragedy. Controversial during its time for its frank depictions of sexuality and the destructiveness of relationships and jealousy, “Women in Love” is a modern and powerful story of love and human imperfections set against the backdrop of the social turmoil of the First World War. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
