Inspired by the long-standing affair between D. H. Lawrences German wife and an Italian peasant,Lady Chatterleys Loverfollows the intense passions of Constance Chatterley. Trapped in an unhappy marriage to an aristocratic mine owner whose war wounds have left him paralyzed and impotent, Constance enters into a liaison with the gamekeeper Mellors. Frank Kermode called the book D. H. Lawrences great achievement, Anas Nin described it as his best novel, and Archibald MacLeish hailed it as one of the most important works of fiction of the century. Along with an incisive Introduction by Kathryn Harrison, this Modern Library edition includes the transcript of the judges decision in the famous 1959 obscenity trial that allowedLady Chatterleys Loverto be published in the United States.