University of Virginia Library

D. H. Lawrence's second novel The Trespasser was composed initially in just over three months in mid-1910, and re-worked for publication early in 1912. Based centrally on the diary of Helen Corke's five days at Freshwater, I.O.W. with 'Siegmund', and further stimulated by Lawrence's intimate friendship and conversations with 'Helena', this novel must stand in unique relationship to its 'originals' and their story.[1] Lawrence first heard

of Miss Corke's experience and 'Siegmund's' suicide[2] in the late autumn of 1909, probably in November, and in his attempts to bring her "back to life" during winter and early spring of 1910, his fascination with the story grew to the point where he gained her permission to use her Freshwater Diary as the basis of a novel. It seems clear that the novel was begun during the fortnight after the Easter school-holiday, 1910. Since Easter itself fell on March 28th, the novel could not have been started before the latter half of April.[3] Once started, however, Lawrence wrote it with speed and concentration: he referred to "the rapid work of three months" (CL 66. Cf. ED 100-101; WT 233). Miss Corke reports variously that it was finished in "June" and "early July".[4] However a letter from Lawrence to Grace Lovat Fraser dated August 4th 1910 states: "I have just finished my second novel."[5] The context of the letter makes it unlikely that the book was finished on August 4th; however, it is clear that the correct time should be "early August". A period from late April to the first days of August is easily considered a round "three months".

At this stage the manuscript was entitled The Saga of Siegmund. During the school holidays it was shown briefly to Jessie Chambers, who had little to say of it (ICI, 184. Cf. ET 181-182; 189), and then passed to Ford Maddox Hueffer, who took it to Germany with him in September—October 1910.[6] Lawrence, after a worrying few weeks, was relieved, on October 18th, to discover that it had safely reached Sydney Pawling of Heinemann's (WT 235; CL 66, 88). However, it lay in Heinemann's office, probably only partly read, for a year.

In October 1911 Lawrence offered to show the work to his new friend and mentor Edward Garnett. It took until December for the manuscript to reach Lawrence from Pawling. He immediately sent it on, unopened, with a covering letter to Garnett (CL 86). Garnett encouraged him to revise and re-write, and this he began on December 30th. The revised work was ready for Duckworth in February 1912, and Lawrence accepted the offer to publish on March 18th (CL 102-103). The first proofs arrived in Eastwood on April 4th (CL 107). The novel was published on May 23rd 1912 with the title The Trespasser in error for A Game of Forfeits (CL 124).

It is clear that work on The Trespasser falls into two clear periods separated by some 16 months during most of which the manuscript was not in Lawrence's possession. The first writing of The Saga of Siegmund, rapid and intense work, could not have been revised or rewritten until the well-documented revision of January-February 1912. Had Lawrence written another quite independent version, some allusion to it in letters would be likely. There is none, but there is plenty of evidence for other works during 1911, in particular Paul Morel. The surviving manuscripts of The Trespasser closely confirm the documentary evidence for two versions.