Lady Chatterley's Lover

[Arthur Little]

Tonight ... BBC 1, 9 o'clock until 10.30. Television adaption of D.H. Lawrence's classic novel about a happily married aristocratic woman ... until her husband is severely wounded (and rendered impotent) during The Great War.

... should be good - if you like that sort of thing - apologies for the short notice!

[Arthur Little]

Remember seeing the 'X'-rated film ... approximately half a century ago.

[KeithD]

Remember seeing the 'X'-rated film ... approximately half a century ago.

Must have been a silent movie that one

[Arthur Little]

Must have been a silent movie that one

... reasonably silent ... save for the odd grunt here 'n' there!

[Michael Parnham]

I remember the book being banned in the 50's

[johncar54]

The trial against Penguin Books opened the flood gates to allow, increasingly, almost anything to be published (in all medias). See quote below re that trial.

The effect of that court Finding was rather like the Abortion Act 1967, in that when passed that law was, Parliament believed there would be a very very hundred abortions a year. Now, in England and Wales there are over, 500 every day, i.e. over 180,000 p.a.

Just a thought, that is probably considerably more than the refugees who are dying lost at sea, which the world is up in arms about, signing petitions, lobby gpvermnets etc.

Another thought in passing. I have no doubt that a law permitting euthanasia would also result in thousands of 'pressured' deaths each year, but many will say I am wrong, just as many did when the law allowing abortions was passed.


Quote:

Wiki:-

British obscenity trial
Main article: R v Penguin Books Ltd.

When the full unexpurgated edition was published by Penguin Books in Britain in 1960, the trial of Penguin under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 was a major public event and a test of the new obscenity law. The 1959 act (introduced by Roy Jenkins) had made it possible for publishers to escape conviction if they could show that a work was of literary merit. One of the objections was to the frequent use of the word "...." and its derivatives. Another objection related to the use of the word "....".

Various academic critics and experts of diverse kinds, including E. M. Forster, Helen Gardner, Richard Hoggart, Raymond Williams and Norman St John-Stevas, were called as witnesses, and the verdict, delivered on 2 November 1960, was "not guilty". This resulted in a far greater degree of freedom for publishing explicit material in the United Kingdom. The prosecution was ridiculed for being out of touch with changing social norms when the chief prosecutor, Mervyn Griffith-Jones, asked if it were the kind of book "you would wish your wife or servants to read".

The Penguin second edition, published in 1961, contains a publisher's dedication, which reads: "For having published this book, Penguin Books were prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act, 1959 at the Old Bailey in London from 20 October to 2 November 1960. This edition is therefore dedicated to the twelve jurors, three women and nine men, who returned a verdict of 'not guilty' and thus made D. H. Lawrence's last novel available for the first time to the public in the United Kingdom".

[Arthur Little]

I remember the book being banned in the 50's

It was very controversial at the time, Michael ... !

Which ... ... of course, had the effect of all the more people wanting to get hold of a copy to !

[Arthur Little]

The trial against Penguin Books opened the flood gates to allow, increasingly, almost anything to be published (in all medias). See quote below re that trial.

The effect of that court Finding was rather like the Abortion Act 1967, in that when passed that law was, Parliament believed there would be a very very hundred abortions a year. Now, in England and Wales there are over, 500 every day, i.e. over 180,000 p.a.

Just a thought, that is probably considerably more than the refugees who are dying lost at sea, which the world is up in arms about, signing petitions, lobby gpvermnets etc.

Another thought in passing. I have no doubt that a law permitting euthanasia would also result in thousands of 'pressured' deaths each year, but many will say I am wrong, just as many did when the law allowing abortions was passed.


Quote:

Wiki:-

British obscenity trial
Main article: R v Penguin Books Ltd.

When the full unexpurgated edition was published by Penguin Books in Britain in 1960, the trial of Penguin under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 was a major public event and a test of the new obscenity law. The 1959 act (introduced by Roy Jenkins) had made it possible for publishers to escape conviction if they could show that a work was of literary merit. One of the objections was to the frequent use of the word "...." and its derivatives. Another objection related to the use of the word "....".

Various academic critics and experts of diverse kinds, including E. M. Forster, Helen Gardner, Richard Hoggart, Raymond Williams and Norman St John-Stevas, were called as witnesses, and the verdict, delivered on 2 November 1960, was "not guilty". This resulted in a far greater degree of freedom for publishing explicit material in the United Kingdom. The prosecution was ridiculed for being out of touch with changing social norms when the chief prosecutor, Mervyn Griffith-Jones, asked if it were the kind of book "you would wish your wife or servants to read".

The Penguin second edition, published in 1961, contains a publisher's dedication, which reads: "For having published this book, Penguin Books were prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act, 1959 at the Old Bailey in London from 20 October to 2 November 1960. This edition is therefore dedicated to the twelve jurors, three women and nine men, who returned a verdict of 'not guilty' and thus made D. H. Lawrence's last novel available for the first time to the public in the United Kingdom".

Interesting facts, John ... thanks for that information.

[Michael Parnham]

The trial against Penguin Books opened the flood gates to allow, increasingly, almost anything to be published (in all medias). See quote below re that trial.

The effect of that court Finding was rather like the Abortion Act 1967, in that when passed that law was, Parliament believed there would be a very very hundred abortions a year. Now, in England and Wales there are over, 500 every day, i.e. over 180,000 p.a.

Just a thought, that is probably considerably more than the refugees who are dying lost at sea, which the world is up in arms about, signing petitions, lobby gpvermnets etc.

Another thought in passing. I have no doubt that a law permitting euthanasia would also result in thousands of 'pressured' deaths each year, but many will say I am wrong, just as many did when the law allowing abortions was passed.


Quote:

Wiki:-

British obscenity trial
Main article: R v Penguin Books Ltd.

When the full unexpurgated edition was published by Penguin Books in Britain in 1960, the trial of Penguin under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 was a major public event and a test of the new obscenity law. The 1959 act (introduced by Roy Jenkins) had made it possible for publishers to escape conviction if they could show that a work was of literary merit. One of the objections was to the frequent use of the word "...." and its derivatives. Another objection related to the use of the word "....".

Various academic critics and experts of diverse kinds, including E. M. Forster, Helen Gardner, Richard Hoggart, Raymond Williams and Norman St John-Stevas, were called as witnesses, and the verdict, delivered on 2 November 1960, was "not guilty". This resulted in a far greater degree of freedom for publishing explicit material in the United Kingdom. The prosecution was ridiculed for being out of touch with changing social norms when the chief prosecutor, Mervyn Griffith-Jones, asked if it were the kind of book "you would wish your wife or servants to read".

The Penguin second edition, published in 1961, contains a publisher's dedication, which reads: "For having published this book, Penguin Books were prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act, 1959 at the Old Bailey in London from 20 October to 2 November 1960. This edition is therefore dedicated to the twelve jurors, three women and nine men, who returned a verdict of 'not guilty' and thus made D. H. Lawrence's last novel available for the first time to the public in the United Kingdom".

Very interesting John, thank you for that