The Three Versions

Lawrence wrote three complete versions of the novel between 1926 and 1928, each more sexually explicit than the last. The first version, The First Lady Chatterley, is relatively restrained. The third and final version — the one that was prosecuted — pushes the language as far as Lawrence could take it.

Comparing the three versions reveals Lawrence's deliberate artistic process. He did not add explicit content for shock value but because he became increasingly convinced that euphemism was dishonesty and that using frank language for physical acts was essential to his argument about reconnecting mind and body. Each version strips away another layer of polite evasion.