I feel that Mr. Hoggart has done an absolutely superb job at bring definitions to the field of cultural studies. This is a must have for anybody and everybody no matter what their feild of study is.

When I first began to read Lady Chatterley's Lover I thought it was going to be quite a chore. I'm used to flowery language and all that, but I just wasn't in the mood for what I anticipated to be a sex-charged love story. Much to my surprise I got MUCH more from this wonderful classic.

D.H. Lawrence makes some striking observations about the state of the social classes in post WWI England, as well as providing some good insights into tough individual decisions we make in regard to relationships. I had limited knowledge of the post-war subject beforehand, but I felt that I learned a great deal in the process of reading. At times the book seemed repetitive, as if Lawrence were beating me over the head with his message, sacrificing character and plot in the process, but after all was said and done I couldn't say that it was a bad book. It's a very insightful, multi-layered work and I'm very glad I read it. The fact that the book was widely banned from publication in its early days is just another tempting reason to read it although, by today's standards, what was so risqué then borders on the ridiculous for us now. As long as you remind yourself of the time period in which it was written you'll be just fine...the laughs and raised eyebrows in conjunction with more serious themes are a pleasant mix.

As with any good novel there are several levels on which this book may be read. Taken factually, here a woman forsakes her incapacitated husband and takes the gamekeeper of their estate as her lover. Pretty ugly scenario! How can such a cruel action be justified? Lawrence is not afraid to take on this formidable challenge.

To some people there is absolutely no issue here. When you marry, you commit yourself exclusively to your mate. Period! Case closed! But in real life, the matter is not so simple, unless you choose to make it so.

On a deeper level a marriage inherently has hidden strings attached. It requires an honest effort by both partners to commit to the marriage, to sense their partner's needs, and to respond to them honestly and with sensitivity. If one mate is not perceptive, not doing their part, not "truly interested" in the marriage, then the marriage is in reality already dissolved, albeit not legally. This was the case with Lady Chatterly and her husband. It was also the case with the gamekeeper and his wife. Lawrence had to courage to recognize and to address this marriage problem, which probably is more common today than we would care to admit.

The level at which I most liked this novel was in the descriptions of the actual physical encounters between the Lady and her lover. I have not counted them but there are perhaps four or five, all under different circumstances, all resulting in different degrees of satisfaction. Which suggests to me tht the sex act, in itself, is an almost neutral event. What gives it meaning are the attitudes and sensitivities that its participants bring to the occasion.

At its deepest level sex is a reverent act, a sacrament. It is an uncompromising, fully trustful yielding of one's body to the care and love of another person. The result can be the most glorious feeling a human can experience. It can also be the most degrading feeling in the world. In this novel Lawrence follows the Lady and her lover through their progressing relationship. The novel can serve the reader as an inspiring view of the great beauty and joy that a loving relationship may eventually engender.

Should teenagers read this book? In my opinion, no. Nevertheless, they will. But, like Shakespeare, they will not be able to absorb its wealth. I encourage them to save its reading for their later years when they are trying to bring new riches to their lives. Sort of like saving the icing on the cake, and eating it last. I think Lawrence would like that.

Many people dismiss this book as nothing but pervertedness and filthiness. They fail to see the beauty of this tale. This book deserves literary merit, for it's a brave masterpiece. Not, as one prosecutor put it, "dirt for dirt's sake."

This book should not be seen as a piece of work advertising pornography, but rather as a mere attack against industrialization. Perhaps Lawrence, through the tale of Lady Chatterley and her lover, was trying to bring a message across about industry (Clifford Chatterley's coal mine) and the working class (significantly the gamekeeper, Mellors). But, of course, we can't overlook the endless romance between Lady Chatterley and her lover, for it is what this story is about.

The fact that it contains that little four-lettered Anglo-Saxon word that begins with an "F" is more reason why this book deserves literary merit, for it is one of the first and foremost important works of literature to contain it. Now, of course, it is hard to find a book, a movie, or a song without that famous word.

If D. H. Lawrence should be remembered a thousand years from now, it should be for writing this story. He was a very courageous, very daring person to have written it. This taboo of a story is one that will stay in the reader's mind forever.

(Note: If you are to read this book, I'd recommend the unexpurgated version.)

Hoggart is the Grand Old Man of (British) Culture, he is as at home commenting on the Tellytubbies as on Hegel or Falkner. He's very aware that his position as an academic could prejudice his argument and so has made this book very non 'ivory tower'. Going through the years and through the different media of culture he shows how the reductivist and populist ways of thinking have led to cultural impoverishment. The great thing is he does this in a very aproachable way with a great eclectic trawl through his erudite and witty mind. If you are worried about education, about piles of bricks masquerading as sculpture, splodges of paint as art, about bad books published and praised solely on the colour or gender of their authors, if you are worry about what television is doing to your brain then this is a great book for you. Because Hoggart has seen the pitfalls of merely ranting about the destruction of culture he has all the weapons you need to defend yourself against the cultural vandals who equate graffiti with Shakespeare. The book is great to dip into - the examples of bad culture exposed by his scathing wit are hilarious. If you are a college student and have nothing to say to those who assert that Warhol is as valid an artist as Carravagio then this is an excellent prep work for the next time you get into a late night arguement. The search for quality and depth in culture has very few friends. Soon Hoggart will become another 'dead white male' - read him before he does.

Hoggart is the Grand Old Man of (British) Culture, he is as at home commenting on the Tellytubbies as on Hegel or Falkner. He's very aware that his position as an academic could prejudice his argument and so has made this book very non 'ivory tower'. Going through the years and through the different media of culture he shows how the reductivist and populist ways of thinking have led to cultural impoverishment. The great thing is he does this in a very aproachable way with a great eclectic trawl through his erudite and witty mind. If you are worried about education, about piles of bricks masquerading as sculpture, splodges of paint as art, about bad books published and praised solely on the colour or gender of their authors, if you are worry about what television is doing to your brain then this is a great book for you. Because Hoggart has seen the pitfalls of merely ranting about the destruction of culture he has all the weapons you need to defend yourself against the cultural vandals who equate graffiti with Shakespeare. The book is great to dip into - the examples of bad culture exposed by his scathing wit are hilarious. If you are a college student and have nothing to say to those who assert that Warhol is as valid an artist as Carravagio then this is an excellent prep work for the next time you get into a late night arguement. The search for quality and depth in culture has very few friends. Soon Hoggart will become another 'dead white male' - read him before he does.