England, My England and Other Stories (III)

D. H. LawrenceJun 2024

Rating 4.0

Word count: 23K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

This book is a selection of Lawrence's short stories and novellas in English, suitable for English-language enthusiasts.

It includes Odour of Chrysanthemums, Love among the Haystacks, The Prussian Officer, England, My England, You Touched Me, The Princess, Sun, The Man Who Loved Islands, A Dream of Life and other works.

In the novella England, My England, Lawrence tells the story of a couple's emotional relationship.

It describes how a pure and beautiful marriage becomes alienated in real life, how serene days become unbearable under worldly pressure, how the flower of love withers unnoticed, how communication between the sexes becomes impossibly difficult, and how the desire to live is replaced by the lure of death.

On the surface it is a poignant love story, but its significance far exceeds the surface of its plot; its narration seems to possess a powerful vital tension of its own, evoking deep-seated resonance in the reader's senses, a resonance whose amplitude is perhaps infinite. Lawrence's illusionist realist technique reaches a new height here.

Editor's review

This is the third English-language volume of selected short stories and novellas by Lawrence, including Odour of Chrysanthemums, Love among the Haystacks, The Prussian Officer, England, My England, You Touched Me, The Princess, Sun, The Man Who Loved Islands, A Dream of Life and other pieces, suitable for English-language enthusiasts to encounter Lawrence's narrative style in shorter forms. The title novella England, My England depicts how a couple's emotional relationship becomes alienated under real-world pressure: a pure and beautiful marriage gradually becomes unbearable, love withers unnoticed amid worldly pressure, communication between the sexes grows difficult, and the desire to live is replaced by the lure of death. On the surface a poignant love story, its significance exceeds the surface of the plot; the narration possesses a powerful vital tension, evoking deep-seated resonance in the reader's senses, and the illusionist realist technique reaches a new height. The advantage of a short-story collection is that each piece stands alone, allowing readers to appreciate one by one Lawrence's sensitive capture of marriage, desire, nature and the shadow of war; the English original also lets readers feel its rhythm and imagery more directly. Suitable as selected reading in English literature or for close reading of short stories.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-language enthusiasts with intermediate English reading ability who want to read Lawrence's short stories in the original
Literary readers interested in gender relations, marital alienation and psychological portrayal
Readers of English short-story collections who need self-contained pieces suitable for reading in segments
Students in university English literature courses who need short texts as supplementary reading

Not a good fit for

Beginners with weak English who find literary English expression difficult
Readers who prefer tightly plotted stories with clear endings
Readers with little interest in psychological portrayal and discussion of gender themes

Reading tips

There is no need to read in table-of-contents order; start with Odour of Chrysanthemums or England, My England to get a feel for Lawrence's style.
After each piece, summarize the changes in the characters' relationships in one or two sentences, then revisit the paragraphs containing key images.
For the title novella, focus on how everyday married life is eroded by worldly pressure; do not rush to draw moral conclusions.
When English reading stalls, first grasp the scenes and dialogue, then look up the key words that affect understanding, and maintain the rhythm of short-story reading.

版权信息
The Primrose Path
The Horse Dealer's Daughter
Fanny And Annie

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a short-story collection?

It is a selection of Lawrence's short stories and novellas in English. It includes Odour of Chrysanthemums, Love among the Haystacks, The Prussian Officer, England, My England, You Touched Me, The Princess, Sun, The Man Who Loved Islands, A Dream of Life and other pieces; each stands alone and can be read separately.

What is England, My England mainly about?

It tells the story of a couple's emotional relationship, describing how a pure and beautiful marriage becomes alienated in real life, how serene days become unbearable under worldly pressure, how love withers unnoticed, how communication between the sexes grows difficult, and how the desire to live is replaced by the lure of death. On the surface a poignant love story, its significance exceeds the surface of the plot.

My English is average; can I read this English edition?

If you can normally read ordinary English novels, you can start with the shorter pieces, first grasping scenes and dialogue, then handling details. If you are often stuck on long sentences and literary expression, it is advisable to first read a Chinese translation to understand the plot, then choose one or two pieces for bilingual reading, gradually adapting to Lawrence's linguistic rhythm.

How should I arrange the reading order of this short-story collection?

You can read by interest, without being bound by the table of contents. It is suggested to start with shorter pieces with clearer plot lines, such as Odour of Chrysanthemums or Love among the Haystacks, then move on to works with more complex themes such as England, My England. After each piece, pause briefly to sort out the character relationships and core images.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

D. H. Lawrence Author · British · 1885–1930

D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) was an English novelist, poet, and essayist, and one of the most important and controversial writers in twentieth-century English literature. Born into a mining family in Nottinghamshire, he is best known for novels such as Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, and Lady Chatterley's Lover. His work explores human nature and relations between the sexes amid modern industrial civilization, and several of his books were banned for their candid descriptions. This site holds nine of his works, mostly English-language story collections, including The Prussian Officer and Other Stories, The Woman Who Rode Away and Other Stories, and England, My England and Other Stories, each in several volumes, as well as a Chinese translation of Women in Love. These works display his delicate psychological portrayal, his attention to conflicts of class and desire, and a restrained, symbolic narrative style.