The Sisters

When D.H. Lawrence wrote The Rainbow and Women in Love he had intended for them to be a single novel. One of the names he was considering was The Sisters. The publisher, however, chose to break the work into two novels. Here are the two novels once again in single form. This novel follows generations of the Brangwen family, focusing on the sexual dynamics of, and relations between, the characters. Lawrence's frank treatment of sexual desire and the power plays within relationships as a natural and even spiritual force of life caused The Rainbow to be prosecuted in an obscenity trial in late 1915, as a result of which all copies were seized and burnt. After this ban it was unavailable in Britain for 11 years.