The Lost Girl By D. H. Lawrence

David Herbert Lawrence is definitely an acquired taste, and one that, until I read this novel, I never thought I'd acquire. However, after seeing a terrific performance of The Daughter-in-law (Oberon Modern Plays) at the Lowry Theatre earlier this year, I was intrigued by the gritty physicality of Lawrence's writing, and decided to give this, one of his lesser-known works, a go - and I was glad I did.



The novel is fairly straightforward and develops pretty slowly, as the unquenchable loser James Houghton (pronounced 'Huffton') grasps scheme after harebrained scheme in order to become wealthy and give his only daughter, Alvina, and sickly wife, the life he thinks they were born for. By the time of his death, mid-way through the novel, Alvina has taken centre-stage, and we see her striving to break out of the shadow of her feckless father and find love in a world threatened by war.