When D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover first appeared in print in the late 1920s, it was an immediate sensation. A vivid—often graphic—exploration of infidelity, sexual awakening, intimacy and free thinking, Chatterley was banned in Britain, America and dozens of other countries for its frank depiction of the sexual act, explicit descriptions of physical love and the liberal use of once-prohibited four-letter words.

It was not until 1960 that Penguin Books, in a watershed obscenity trial victory, was finally able to publish the book in England and the novel soon sold an astonishing three million copies and became a celebrated literary landmark.

Lady Chatterley's Lover follows the marriage of Constance Reid to Sir Clifford Chatterley, a wealthy landlord who was paralyzed fighting in World War I. As Sir Clifford is unable to have a physical relationship with his wife, Connie seeks the comfort of lovers, finally finding true fulfillment in the bed of the estate's groundskeeper, Oliver Mellors. As Lady Chatterley and Mellors relationship grows and class differences threaten their alliance, Connie comes to realize that true love and affection between a man and woman must come from both a mental and physical connection.

The book is presented here in its original and unabridged format.