D.H. Lawrence, Music and Modernism

Susan Reid is the editor of the Journal of D. H. Lawrence Studies, co-editor of the Edinburgh Companion to D. H. Lawrence and the Arts (under contract, 2020) and Katherine Mansfield and Literary Modernism (2011), and author of numerous articles and book chapters on Lawrence and other modernist writers.

“Susan Reid’s book is very useful in working on … the significance of music to D. H. Lawrence and his writing. Her book performs an excellent service in gathering together musical allusions in Lawrence’s various texts, noting possible musical influences on them, and in a valuable appendix itemizing settings of Lawrence’s works. … the study is definitive, and will stand as a sourcebook for any future research.” (Jeremy Tambling, Modern Language Review, Vol. 116 (4), October, 2021)“D. H. Lawrence, Music and Modernism comes highly recommended: the diversity of material it brings together from across Lawrence’s career is impressive in its own right, and this range will make it an excellent springboard for future work on Lawrence and music.” (Robert Jackson, The Cambridge Quarterly, Vol. 48 (4), December, 2019)

• 1. Introduction: “Words writ to the music".- 2. “The insidious mastery of song”: Cadence and decadence in the early poems.- 3. Lawrence’s case of Wagner: The White Peacock and The Trespasser.- 4. “Between heaven and earth”: Space, music and religion in The Rainbow.- 5. “Beyond the sound of words”: Harmony and polyphony in Women in Love.- 6. Music, noise and the First World War: “All of Us”, Bay and Aaron’s Rod.- 7. New world musicals: The Plumed Serpent and David.- 8. Conclusion: Aspiring to the condition of song.- 9. Afterword: Anthony Burgess’s D. H. Lawrence Suite.