D. H. Lawrence

A life well remembered. 

In this comprehensive biography, Geoffrey Trease presents a reconstructed account on D. H. Lawrence’s life, based on authentic word-by-word dialogues, biographies and memoirs. 

Although Trease had never met Lawrence, they both grew up in Nottingham, attended the same school and had the same teachers Lawrence had. 

Exposed to Lawrence’s fame, Trease bought the novel Sons and Lovers following Lawrence’s death. 

And so followed an avid interest in the life of this famous author… 

September 11th, 1885 saw the birth of David Herbert Richards Lawrence in a little mining town, Eastwood, in Nottingham. 

His father was a dockyard engineer and his mother, once a teacher, had other plans for her sons. 

Arrogant to some extent, she strived to ensure her children stood out from other children, but over time, Lawrence started to resent his given name and his relationship with his parents deteriorated. 

Due to his personal circumstances, the relationship with his fellow classmates was tinged with friction. 

However later, when Lawrence met Frieda Weekley, daughter of a German aristocrat, he realised he’d met the woman who matched him emotionally. 

They were right for each other in many ways. 

With her, he travelled through many cities. Some of which formed the basis for a lot of his writing. 

She also encouraged him to change his outlook and supported him as Lawrence suffered from a weakness of the lungs, and, in 1925, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, though it was something he never admitted. 

They moved to the sea, hoping this would help Lawrence, and as the scandal around some of his publications hit, he died in 1930, leaving a large quantity of unpublished work. 

D.H. Lawrence: The Phoenix and the Flame is an emotional tale of one man’s extraordinary life and writing career. 

“Geoffrey Trease has certainly got the knack. He can write for young people, in this case mainly for teenagers, without being obvious. The excitement is there where fact permits. So is the lucidity, with events all round the world fitting smoothly into their proper place and time” - The Daily Telegraph 

“I found it a fascinating book. I wish that all history books were so inviting and intelligent.” - Naomi Lewes, BBC 

“History at its most agreeable and readable.” - Time and Tide 

Geoffrey Trease (1909-1998) was the author of more than one hundred books, including children’s books. He revolutionised children’s literature and was one of the first authors to deliberately appeal to both boys and girls through strong leading characters of both genders. In 1966 Trease won the New York Herald Tribune Book Award for This is Your Century . Geoffrey Trease was educated at Oxford University and travelled widely in Europe and beyond. He lived in Herefordshire on the slopes of the Malvern Hills.