University of Virginia Library

Historical Background

In 1908 Lawrence recalled his boredom in September 1906 with his teacher training course at University College, Nottingham: 'It was imperative that I should do something, so I began to write a novel—or rather, I resumed a work I had begun some months before—two years last Easter'.[3] The first draft ("Laetitia I") was completed by June 1907. Lawrence was, however, dissatisfied with it and immediately began to rewrite from the beginning. The second draft ("Laetitia II") was finished by May 1908. A forty-eight page and a ten-page fragment of the respective drafts have survived and have been published in an appendix to the Cambridge Edition.

Lawrence moved to Croydon to start work as a schoolteacher in October 1908, and began to rewrite his novel in January 1909, renaming it "Nethermere".

It is difficult to determine his rate of progress with the new work because he rarely mentions it in his surviving letters of the period. On 19 August 1909, however, he told his teacher friend Louie Burrows, with whom he was collaborating on short stories: 'It will take you at least three years to write a novel—at school' (Letters i 136). Lawrence had begun his own novel three years earlier, at Easter 1906, so it seems likely that he had recently brought the work to some form of completion. This was probably before the end of July because he was away from Croydon on holiday in August (two weeks on the Isle of Wight, the rest in Eastwood).

In late August 1909 Lawrence heard that some of his poems had been accepted for publication by Ford Madox Hueffer (later Ford), the editor of the English Review. He met with Hueffer in London before 11 September, and it was probably at that meeting or in a letter that Hueffer said he would 'be glad to read any [prose] work' Lawrence sent him (Letters i 138). After revising parts of the manuscript, probably with the help of two friends, Lawrence submitted his novel to Hueffer just before 1 November (see Letters i 141). This completed draft is referred to as "Nethermere I" in the following analysis.

On 20 November Lawrence wrote: 'Hueffer is reading my novel. He says it's good, and is going to get it published for me' (Letters i 144). On 15 December Hueffer sent Lawrence a letter approving the work. Lawrence immediately sent a copy of the letter to the publisher William Heinemann, and asked if he could send him "Nethermere I" to be considered for publication (Letters i 148-149).[4]

The whereabouts of "Nethermere I" between 20 November and 15 December is unclear. Robertson suggests that Hueffer returned the manuscript before writing to Lawrence on 15 December; Lawrence would then have had time to revise the work before offering it to Heinemann (see WP xxvii). I believe, however, that Hueffer held onto the manuscript up to 15 December, discussing it with Lawrence when Lawrence visited his home in central London at weekends.[5] Hueffer's letter of 15 December told Lawrence: 'I have now read your novel, and have read it with a great deal of interest'. He gave his opinion of the book's faults and merits, and offered advice on how to improve it and approach a publisher, having decided it was too long for the English Review. Even if he had already told Lawrence, as seems probable, to forward a copy of his letter to Heinemann and had deliberately phrased it so as to

arouse Heinemann's interest, it seems reasonable to accept his opening statement as a strong indication that the manuscript was still in his hands. The letter contains no suggestion that Hueffer was returning the manuscript to Lawrence for revision; the manuscript was delivered to Heinemann's office in central London at an unknown date after 15 December by Violet Hunt, who lived with Hueffer.[6]

Lawrence met Heinemann on 20 January 1910 and was informed that "Nethermere I" had been approved for publication, subject to a number of alterations. It is not known when the manuscript itself was returned to Lawrence, but Helen Corke remembers him unpacking it for her sometime in February, after asking her to look over it for him.[7] The manuscript has not survived intact. It was substantially redrafted over the following months into "Nethermere II", which is the surviving manuscript and was used as setting copy for the first edition of The White Peacock. "Nethermere II" was delivered to Heinemann on 11 April (see Letters i 158-159). Whilst Robertson surmises that "Nethermere I" was revised during late November and December 1909, I believe that all the revisions to "Nethermere I" were made after February 1910 and were in effect the writing of "Nethermere II".