D. H. Lawrence and Frieda: A Portrait of Love and Loyalty

Drawing on some 900 unpublished letters of Frieda's that Squires and his wife, Lynn K. Talbot, have collected, this book attempts a more balanced view than has been available until now of this much- written- of couple. Frieda's abandoning husband and children; Lawrence's finding purpose and direction after his desolation over his mother 's death; the difficult, harrowing war years; the couple's questing on several continents and trying to establish a home and sustain Lawrence's writing; and the final years of his illness and dying. While their shortness (mostly 6-8 pages) lends a degree of suspense - sometimes like the chapterettes of The Da Vince Code - other effects also occur. Since each short chapter is layered by particular details and generalities, each is a solid block or chunk of exposition and argument.