Widely considered to be D. H. Lawrence’s finest novel, Women in Love shows this classic author at his provocative best

It is the early twentieth century, and the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula, live in a coal-mining town in the Midlands of England.

Ursula, a teacher, and Gudrun, an artist, are on a quest for happiness and intellectual fulfillment when they meet Rupert and Gerald. Rupert is decidedly attractive, and Ursula gravitates toward him immediately; Gerald is good looking and wealthy, and his friendship with Gudrun soon becomes something more. The four bond deeply through life’s tragedies and joys, and periods of alternating intense passion and strife. They move in and out of one another’s minds, lives, and beds in unexpected ways.

Suffused with a sense of deep and compelling humanity, Women in Love is widely considered to be Lawrence’s greatest achievement—an exploration of love and sexuality in all its varied, beautiful, and devastating forms.

Mia Wilson