D. H. Lawrence and the Literary Marketplace - by Annalise Grice (Paperback)

About the Book

Examines how D. H. Lawrence established a professional writing career.

Book Synopsis

Despite the 'materialist turn' in modernist studies, the extent and depth of D. H. Lawrence's engagement with the literary marketplace has not been considered. The labelling of him as a working class 'genius' has concealed the question of how he became a published writer. Analysing the literary marketplace of the 'long' Edwardian period, this book assesses the circumstances for becoming an author at this time, examining Lawrence's changing conceptions of what kind of writer he wanted to be and who he wanted to write for. It reconsiders the significance of Lawrence's literary mentors Ford Madox Hueffer and Edward Garnett and recovers several figures (including Violet Hunt and Ezra Pound) whose significance for Lawrence's career has been underestimated. The book evaluates how Lawrence's work was marketed and received by the reading public in Britain and America, examining publishing houses (including Heinemann, Duckworth, T. Fisher Unwin and Mitchell Kennerley) and literary journals and magazines (such as the New Age, the English Review, Madame and Forum).

From the Back Cover

The first monograph to examine how D. H. Lawrence established a professional writing career. Despite the 'materialist turn' in modernist studies, the extent and depth of D. H. Lawrence's engagement with the literary marketplace has not been considered. The labelling of him as a working class 'genius' has concealed the question of how he became a published writer. Analysing the literary marketplace of the 'long' Edwardian period, this book assesses the circumstances for becoming an author at this time, examining Lawrence's changing conceptions of what kind of writer he wanted to be and who he wanted to write for. It reconsiders the significance of Lawrence's literary mentors Ford Madox Hueffer and Edward Garnett and recovers several figures (including Violet Hunt and Ezra Pound) whose significance for Lawrence's career has been underestimated. The book evaluates how Lawrence's work was marketed and received by the reading public in Britain and America, examining publishing houses (including Heinemann, Duckworth, T. Fisher Unwin and Mitchell Kennerley) and literary journals and magazines (such as the New Age, the English Review, Madame and Forum). Annalise Grice is Senior Lecturer in English at Nottingham Trent University, UK. She has published several other book chapters and articles on D. H. Lawrence, including essays for the D. H. Lawrence Review and D. H. Lawrence in Context (Cambridge University Press).

Review Quotes

Grice provides a finely-tuned assessment of how Lawrence shaped his identity as a writer early on, through strategies and negotiations, and assistance from professional and social networks. For a comprehensive account of how Lawrence developed his talents and attained legitimacy in the literary marketplace, this book is key.--Judith Ruderman, Duke University

This splendid debut is essential reading for Lawrence scholars, and it also establishes him among his modernist contemporaries.--Susan Reid, University of Northampton "Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen"

Written in lucid, jargon-free prose, D. H. Lawrence and the Literary Marketplace: The Early Writings is a valuable study that may not change the direction of textual scholarship or modernist studies but stands as an important contribution to the latter using the methodologies of the former.--Russell McDonald, Georgian Court University "Textual Cultures"

About the Author

Annalise Grice is Senior Lecturer in English at Nottingham Trent University, UK. She has published several other book chapters and articles on D. H. Lawrence, including essays for the D. H. Lawrence Review and D. H. Lawrence in Context (Cambridge University Press).