DavidHerbert(D.H.)Lawrence,whosefictionhashadaprofoundinfluenceontwentieth-centuryliterature,wasbornonSeptember11,1885,inaminingvillageinNottinghamshire,England.Hisfatherwasanilliteratecoalminer,hismotheragenteelschoolteacherdeterminedtoliftherchildrenoutoftheworkingclass.Hisparents'unhappymarriageandhismother'sstrongemotionalclaimsonhersonlaterbecamethebasisforLawrence'sSonsandLovers(1913),oneofthemostimportantautobiographicalnovelsofthiscentury.
In1915,hismasterpiece,TheRainbow,whichlikeit'scompanionnovelWomenInLove(1920)dealtfranklywithsex,wassuppressedasindecentamonthafteritspublication.Aaron'sRoad(1922);Kangaroo(1923),setinAustralia;andThePlumedSerpent(1926),setinMexico,wereallwrittenduringLawrence'stravelsinsearchofpoliticalandemotionalrefugeandhealthfulclimate.In1928,alreadydesperatelyill,LawrencewroteLadyChatterly'sLover.Bannedaspornographic,theunexpurgatededitionwasnotallowedlegalcirculationinBritainuntil1960.D.H.Lawrencecalledhislife,markedbystruggle,frustration,anddespair"asavageenoughpilgrimage."HediedonMarch2,1930,attheageofforty-four,inVence,France.