D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover and “Popular” Editions

In “Accumulated Mail” (1925) Lawrence wrote that “it’s no fun, writing unpopular books” (RDP 239). But he was keen to see his books sold. When Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928) was widely pirated he sought to beat the pirates at their own game by arranging for the so-called “Paris popular edition” of Lady Chatterley’s Lover to be published there in 1929 with an initial print run of 3000 copies. It was quickly followed by second and third printings of the same quantity. Lawrence’s wish is confirmed by Frieda Lawrence in her “open letter” prefixed to the Odyssey Press edition of the book published in 1933, where she stated that Lawrence “wanted to reach the people he voiced and from whom he came.” This paper will explore the intended audience of the Florence first edition, bearing in mind the print run of only 1000 copies. It will then look at Lawrence’s view of the piracies, with some illustrations of those, and then consider whether the Paris popular edition marked a rethink by Lawrence of who the intended audience was or whether it was a natural progression from the Florence first edition. Finally, comparisons will be made with other editions of Lawrence’s books that were considered to be “popular” editions.