Sons and Lovers

The Modern Library recently placed Sons and Lovers ninth on their list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century. The autobiographical novel, published in 1913, tells the story of Paul Morel, sensitive and talented son of an English coal miner in Nottinghamshire. His mother, Gertrude, the educated daughter of Puritanical middle-class parents, has married the miner in the heat of physical attraction. The marriage soon disintegrates; Walter Morel takes to drink and beats his wife and children, and Mrs. Morel pours all her possessive love upon her sons, especially Paul.