Sons and Lovers (Version 2)

D. H. Lawrence (1885 - 1930)

Lawrence summarised the plot of Sons and Lovers in a letter to Edward Garnett in 1912:

β€œIt follows this idea: a woman of character and refinement goes into the lower class, and has no satisfaction in her own life. She has had a passion for her husband, so her children are born of passion, and have heaps of vitality. But as her sons grow up she selects them as lovers β€” first the eldest, then the second. These sons are urged into life by their reciprocal love of their mother β€” urged on and on. But when they come to manhood, they can't love, because their mother is the strongest power in their lives, and holds them...”

The present reader tells the story in his authentic regional English, featuring the East Midlands dialect used by Lawrence in the more intimate exchanges between characters. (Summary prepared by Martin Geeson.)

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Published 1900 onward

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Chapter I - Part 1 - THE EARLY MARRIED LIFE OF THE MORELS Tony Foster
00:33:03
Play 02 Chapter I - Part 2 - THE EARLY MARRIED LIFE OF THE MORELS Tony Foster
00:33:04
Play 03 Chapter II - Part 1 - THE BIRTH OF PAUL, AND ANOTHER BATTLE Tony Foster
00:20:56
Play 04 Chapter II - Part 2 - THE BIRTH OF PAUL, AND ANOTHER BATTLE Tony Foster
00:26:32
Play 05 Chapter III - THE CASTING OFF OF MOREL--THE TAKING ON OF WILLIAM Tony Foster
00:28:31
Play 06 Chapter IV - Part 1 - THE YOUNG LIFE OF PAUL Tony Foster
00:29:23
Play 07 Chapter IV - Part 2 - THE YOUNG LIFE OF PAUL Tony Foster
00:33:02
Play 08 Chapter V - Part 1 - PAUL LAUNCHES INTO LIFE Tony Foster
00:35:33
Play 09 Chapter V - Part 2 - PAUL LAUNCHES INTO LIFE Tony Foster
00:35:59
Play 10 Chapter VI - Part 1 - DEATH IN THE FAMILY Tony Foster
00:32:34
Play 11 Chapter VI - Part 2 - DEATH IN THE FAMILY Tony Foster
00:31:13
Play 12 Chapter VII - Part 1 - LAD AND GIRL LOVE Tony Foster
00:28:12
Play 13 Chapter VII - Part 2 - LAD AND GIRL LOVE Tony Foster
00:20:26
Play 14 Chapter VII - Part 3 - LAD AND GIRL LOVE Tony Foster
00:41:31
Play 15 Chapter VIII - Part 1 - STRIFE IN LOVE Tony Foster
00:40:05
Play 16 Chapter VIII - Part 2 - STRIFE IN LOVE Tony Foster
00:39:07
Play 17 Chapter IX - Part 1 - DEFEAT OF MIRIAM Tony Foster
00:28:46
Play 18 Chapter IX - Part 2 - DEFEAT OF MIRIAM Tony Foster
00:25:42
Play 19 Chapter IX - Part 3 - DEFEAT OF MIRIAM Tony Foster
00:33:03
Play 20 Chapter X - Part 1 - CLARA Tony Foster
00:26:43
Play 21 Chapter X - Part 2 - CLARA Tony Foster
00:30:46
Play 22 Chapter XI - Part 1 - THE TEST ON MIRIAM Tony Foster
00:29:49
Play 23 Chapter XI - Part 2 - THE TEST ON MIRIAM Tony Foster
00:27:05
Play 24 Chapter XII - Part 1 - PASSION Tony Foster
00:32:46
Play 25 Chapter XII - Part 2 - PASSION Tony Foster
00:28:47
Play 26 Chapter XII - Part 3 - PASSION Tony Foster
00:31:15
Play 27 Chapter XIII - Part 1 - BAXTER DAWES Tony Foster
00:41:55
Play 28 Chapter XIII - Part 2 - BAXTER DAWES Tony Foster
00:40:57
Play 29 Chapter XIV - Part 1 - THE RELEASE Tony Foster
00:32:19
Play 30 Chapter XIV - Part 2 - THE RELEASE Tony Foster
00:35:25
Play 31 Chapter XV - DERELICT Tony Foster
00:26:52