Lawrence’s letters – arguably including some of his very best writing – have been published in an eight-volume complete edition, edited by James T. Boulton and published by Cambridge University Press.
Lawrence’s work has now been almost completely published in the Cambridge Edition; thirty-three volumes have appeared and are variously available in paperback and hardback. The edited texts from a number of the volumes have also been published by Penguin.
A biographical work on Lawrence still worth consulting is the magnificent three-volume D. H. Lawrence: A Composite Biography, ed. Edward Nehls (University of Wisconsin Press, 1957–9). Between 1991 and 1998, Cambridge University Press published a three-volume biography which remains the standard work: John Worthen, D. H. Lawrence: The Early Years 1885–1912 (1991), Mark Kinkead-Weekes, D. H. Lawrence: Triumph to Exile 1912–1922 (1996) and David Ellis, D. H. Lawrence: Dying Game 1922–1930 (1998). The most recent single-volume modern biography is that by John Worthen, D. H. Lawrence: The Life of an Outsider (Penguin Books, 2005).
Glossary
Page and line references are given only for the first occurrence of entries where context is crucial to the meaning of the term. All foreign words are French unless otherwise stated.
a, ’a Have.
a’ All.
à propos of nothing Unconnected with what went before, incidentally.
ad infinitum To infinity, having no end (Latin).
addle Acquire as one’s own, earn.
a’ef A half.
Ah I.
American cloth Oilcloth, commonly used as a waterproof tablecloth that can be easily wiped clean.
amourette Cupid.
’am-pat In North Country dialect, ‘ham-sam’ means confused; the combination ‘ ’am-pat’ implies a muddled ‘pat’ answer.
’appen, happen Perhaps.
Aquila Nera Black Eagle (Italian).
arena Aren’t.
Art Are.
’As Has.
aside Beside.
asphodels Flowers of the lily family; in classical mythology, immortal flowers growing in the paradise of Elysium.
aten Eaten.
axed Asked.
bacca Tobacco.
backfire Burn by placing at the back of a fireplace.
bailiff Overseer of an estate or a steward.
bantle Batch.
batman Orderly assigned to serve a military officer.
bead chatelaine Crocheted handbag or purse, often suspended from a belt, with a pattern of beads worked into the stitching.
beech-mast Small rough-skinned fruit of a beech tree, especially when accumulated on the ground.
behint Behind.
Benedictine Brandy liqueur.
bho tree Large fig tree native to Asia, also known as a ‘bo-tree’ or ‘bodhi-tree’ (‘tree of wisdom’); Buddha attained Enlightenment while resting beneath such a tree.
bien emmerdés Plagued by troubles, or, more profanely, ‘deeply in the shit’.
blade of the “turf” Dashing young man with knowledge of horse racing.
bobbed hair Hair cut to ear level; in Lawrence’s time, a conspicuously short and modern hairstyle for a woman.
bout (77:3) Period of drunkenness.
bray … into bits Pound or crush into powder by a pestle in a mortar.
brush-wood Twigs, sticks or branches cut from the undergrowth.
bug (46:8) Conceited, proud.
Butties, butty Subcontractor for individual work ‘stalls’ at a coal face; small employer and workmate.
ca’, ca’s Call, calls.
câline Soft and caressable.
Can (5:21) Probably a local pronounciation of the dialect word ‘ken’, to know.
carob tree Mediterranean evergreen shrub or tree; its seed pods can be used as an ingredient for a confection similar to chocolate.
carte blanche Full discretionary power; literally ‘blank paper’.
cast (101:24) Squint.
celandine In Europe, a plant with bright yellow flowers.
C’est ça That’s it.
chenille Tufty and velvety yarn used as a trim on cloth or furniture.
chiffonier Low cupboard with a sideboard top.
childer Children.
chunterin’ Muttering complaints, grumbling.
clinched Locked together or concluded, confirmed.
clinched upon himself Locked within himself, isolated and self-absorbed.
commin’, com’n Coming.
Congregational Chapel Nonconformist ecclesiastical organization where individual chapels are largely self-governing.
Coop (24:27) Come up.
copper fireplace Fireplace under a ‘copper’, a boiler made from copper (or, more often in Lawrence’s time, iron) used for washing clothes.
copper-top Lid of a ‘copper’ (see copper fireplace).
crêpe kimono Loose robe made of a light gauze-like fabric.
crisped (158:14) Stiffened and curled (‘crisping’ often refers to curling hair) or (238:11) enliven, add zest.
crozzled up Shrivelled or dried up.
day man Miner who is employed and paid by the day, typically by a ‘butty’.
death’s-head Skull, an emblem of human mortality.
dog-cart Open two-wheeled horse-drawn cart with back-to-back seats.
done me one Got one over on me, gained an advantage.
dost Do you.
draught-horses Shire-horses used for pulling heavy cart loads or ploughing.
drawing in (9:7) Narrowing a haystack as it grows upwards to prevent loose hay falling down the sides.
Dutch ovens Cast iron or earthenware cooking pots with tightly fitting lids to keep steam inside; used for slow cooking or stew making.
’e He.
ennui Mental weariness, boredom.
entry (84:35) Passage between two terraced houses leading to the back door.
’er Her or she.
fallow Land left unsown to recover nutrients.
farouche Can mean ‘fierce’ or ‘wild’; at 266:19, it also denotes a ‘sullen’ shyness.
fast (25:34) Tightly.
feyther Father.
fillet Headband for holding back or binding hair.
filthy lucre Money; in the Bible, the phrase refers to the dishonest rewards of those ‘Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake’ (Titus i.11).
fire back Back wall of a fireplace.
flig Eager, enthusiastic.
float Low, flat cart.
Fräulein Literally ‘little woman’, a courtesy title for girls and unmarried women (German).
gel, gelsie Girl.
gi’e, gie Give.
Gi’e ower Stop it.
gives over Stops.
glass afore … bed Nightcap, typically either alcoholic or milky.
Gormin’ Vacantly staring and so appearing stupid.
grind (21:11) Fuck.
ha’, ha’e Have.
han Have or hand.
hang my rags An oath perhaps derived from Capel Lofft’s (1806–73) meditation on misplaced pride in the poem ‘Ernest: The Rule of Right’ (1868): ‘ ’Twas pride – one word – / That brought me to this haunt of poverty: / I would not hang my rags on that same staff’ (II.455–7).
harrowing Dragging a heavy frame with metal teeth over ploughed land to break up clods and strip out weeds.
hay close Hayfield.
Herr Hauptmann Captain (German).
hollin’ Hauling or throwing.
horse-raking Using a horse-drawn implement to rake cut hay into rows for drying and collection.
i’ In.
I’n I’m, I am or I’ve, I have.
innerest Innermost (obsolete).
Jawohl Yes, indeed (German).
Kaput Correctly spelt ‘kaputt’: broken, exhausted or finished (German).
lamp cabin Pit-head storage room for miners’ safety lamps.
&n
bsp; landed Blamed.
lief Willingly.
line (86:24) Railway track.
littérateur Literary person.
lodgings on the kerbstone Out on the street, homeless.
loose ’a ‘Loose all’: the end of an afternoon shift at a colliery, signalled at 4 p.m. by a hooter or whistle.
lotus flower Water lily growing up through water from the beds of ponds, streams or swamps; its flowers sink and close at nightfall, rising and opening again at dawn. A symbol of the sun, creation and rebirth, particularly in Egyptian mythology.
Louis Quinze chairs Furniture with elaborate ornamentation, made during the reign of Louis XV, king of France (1715–74).
mash Brew tea.
mean crawl Variant of ‘crawler’, one who behaves obsequiously in hope of advantage.
mending Attention to keep a household fire burning well.
Merde Shit.
mester Manager or owner of a colliery or husband or local pronunciation of ‘Master’, a courtesy title for a boy.
moiled Weary, hot and sweaty through ‘moil’: hard work, drudgery.
morbid Unwholesome, unhealthy.
moulder Sometimes called a coremaker, a moulder produces the hollow moulds into which molten metal is poured to make castings in a foundry.
mun Must.
museau Literally ‘muzzle’, but at 183:19 referring to the whole face.
’n On or of.
-na Suffix to negate a preceding verb, as in ‘ ’Asna’: hasn’t, ‘dunna’: don’t, ‘shanna’: shan’t, ‘wouldna’: wouldn’t.
nepitella Plant of the mint family, with aromatic foliage and clusters of pink, lilac or white flowers.
nettled Stung by nettles.
nine o’clock deputy Manager in charge of safety measures during the nightshift at a mine.
Nirvana In Buddhism, a state of liberation and bliss achieved upon the cessation of all desires.
nog Block.
non, none Not; also acts to negate a following word, as in ‘non want’: don’t want, ‘non knowed’: didn’t know, ‘none as ormin’ ’: not so awkward.
nowt Nothing.
o’, on Of.
offertory Collection of money typically taken at the end of a religious service.
ormin’ Awkward, clumsy.
ostler Stableman in charge of pit ponies.
over-bolster Lawrence’s usual word for a continental quilt.
ower Over.
owt Anything.
oxalis flowers Wood sorrel, with trifoliate leaves and white, pink or yellow flowers.
Palazzo In Italian has a wider application than its literal English translation, ‘palace’; the imposing buildings to which it refers can include, for instance, blocks of flats.
Panacea Universal remedy; the term is often used pejoratively to imply that such a remedy is merely illusory. Panacea was the daughter of Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing in Greek mythology.
panchion Typically, a large and heavy earthenware bowl.
paper spill Length of paper used to transfer a flame.
pee-wits Lapwings, birds with black and white plumage and a shrill cry.
pelargonium More commonly known as a geranium, an indoor plant with red, pink or white flowers and often fragrant leaves.
penny-in-the-slot Vending machine.
pent-house More usually called a ‘lean-to’: outhouse with a sloping roof, joined on to the main house and often used as a pantry.
pet (40:6) State of resentment, sulking.
pick (15:26) Gather cut hay.
pitcher-flowers Carnivorous plants have ‘pitcher-flowers’ to trap insects and reopen invitingly when the insect is digested; can also mean low-growing leaves easily accessible for pollination by ants or beetles.
podere Small agricultural holding, typically a family farm (Italian).
praying-chair Chair with a low, cushioned kneeling piece, a high back and sometimes a shelf on which a book can be placed; used for devotional reading or by a person at prayer.
pulping sweet roots Shedding and crushing raw root vegetables for use as cattle fodder.
putto Representation of a naked boy, typically a cupid or cherub, in Renaissance or Baroque art (Italian).
qui vive Alert, waiting for something to happen.
repellant Nineteenth-century spelling of ‘repellent’.
right as a trivet In a perfectly good state, healthy. A trivet is a very stable three-legged tripod.
ripping (78:37) Cutting into the roof of a coal stall, or the underground route to it, to increase its height.
road (34:30) Way.
rosary In Roman Catholicism, a series of fifteen meditations on ‘mysteries’ in the lives of Jesus and Mary, during which the Lord’s Prayer is said once, ‘Hail Mary’ ten times and ‘Glory Be to the Father’ once; rosary beads are slipped through the fingers to keep count during this series of recitations.
roué Debauchee or rake, typically elderly.
’rt Art, are.
’s As or has.
Sacred Heart In Roman Catholicism, the heart of Christ as an object of devotion.
salotta Correctly spelt ‘salotto’: living room or drawing room (Italian).
sang-froid Composure under difficult or dangerous circumstances.
scalding out the pans Cleaning milk containers with boiling water.
scarab Refers both to the scarabaeid beetle, a large dung-beetle, held sacred by the ancient Egyptians and to the talismans representing this beetle, often cut gems.
Schöner Literally, ‘more handsome’ (German).
scotches Wedges or blocks placed under wheels to stop them rolling.
scrat’ Scratch.
screets Cries.
scroddy Rotten.
s’d Should.
separator Machine in a dairy for separating cream from milk.
settler Conclusive argument.
seven and sixpenny house House with a weekly rent of seven shillings and sixpence (37½ pence now).
sheered, sheering To swerve, change course.
sheering down Falling quickly.
Sicules Original inhabitants of Sicily from whom the island takes its name.
Signora Courtesy title for a married woman, equivalent to ‘Mrs’ (Italian).
sin, sin’ Since.
Sithee See thou, look.
Sitzfleisch Literally, ‘flesh for sitting’ (German), hence patience and perseverance.
skivvy Derogatory and colloquial term for a woman doing menial or poorly paid work.
sleepers Series of beams laid at right angles to a railway track to support and level it from below.
s’ll Shall.
snipe Contemptible person or cheat.
Sorry (5:25) Corruption of ‘sirrah’, the archaic form of ‘sir’.
sphinx Mythical creature with the body of a lion, eagle’s wings and the head and breasts of a woman, reputed to strangle all those who could not answer her riddles; a symbol of inscrutability.
squab Cushion on a sofa or ottoman.
stall Area of coal face allotted for a ‘butty’ to work.
stalled cattle Cattle in individual stalls or compartments inside a shed.
Stations of the Cross Scenes commemorating the fourteen stages of Christ’s Passion.
stitchwort Plant with small white star-shaped flowers, so named because of its reputation for relieving ‘stitch’ pains in the side.
stop (4:15) Stay, reside.
strap (44:15) Belt.
strike tickets Letters for workers’ signature issued by their union to warn of impending strike action.
sumb’dy Somebody.
summat Something.
sure as eggs ‘Sure as eggs is eggs’, that is, absolutely certain.
sward Area of short grass; where, for example, grass has been cut for hay.
sweetmeats machine Vending machine dispensing sweets.
syrens In classical mythology, female monsters, part-woman and part-bird, who lure
d sailors on to the rocks and to their deaths through enchanting songs.
ta You or thank you.
tanger Person with a sharp tongue, a maker of stinging remarks.
teem Unload.
ter To or thou, you.
th’ the or they.
tha Thou, you.
Thaïgh Thee, you.
thowt Thought.
thysen Thyself, yourself.
tines Prongs or points of a fork.
to-do Fuss, trouble.
toque Small hat.
towd Told.
trammelling Acting as an impediment or hindrance.
tramontana North wind that brings cold air into the Mediterranean.
trap (185:30) Open two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage.
trolley Trollop, disreputable woman; also a prostitute.
’ud Would or had.
unabateable Lawrence’s coinage; that which cannot be abated or diminished.
’ve Have.
Vin Ordinaire ‘Ordinary’ or everyday wine; simple, unpretentious and inexpensive.
waflin Moving aimlessly.
wanting (13:30) Unintelligent, slow-witted.
What the Hanover’s got you? ‘What’s got into you?’ Derived from ‘Go to Hanover’, an oath coined upon the unpopularity of the Hanoverian kings. (‘Hanover’ here is a euphemism for hell.)
whimsey Source of water, usually a pond, used to supply the steam engines driving the winding gear at a pit-head.
whoam Home.
wi’ With.
wik Week.
winder Unpleasant surprise, like a blow that ‘winds’ one.
wind-flowers Early spring-flowering plant, also known as wood anemones; can be poisonous.
winrows Rows into which cut hay is raked for drying and to simplify its collection.
winter-aconite Yellow flower from the buttercup family that can appear as early as February; can be poisonous.
winter-crack trees Plum trees producing small, late-ripening fruit.
wor Was or were.
writing sachet From ‘un sachet de papier’, a packet of paper.
Yi Yes.
yis’day Yesterday.
Explanatory Notes
The Note on the Texts gives details concerning the composition, revision and publication history of each story. Unusual, foreign, slang and dialect words and phrases are explained in the Glossary. Bible quotations are from the King James Authorised Version.
Selected Stories Page 38