THE LADY CHATTERLEY TRIAL

Few books can claim to have had such a dramatic impact on society as D.H. Lawrence’s notorious novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

The sexually explicit tale of a steamy affair between a married upper-class woman and a married gamekeeper divided the nation.

When Penguin Books published it in the UK, the firm was charged with obscenity and taken to trial in 1960.

The case showed the gap between the society of the time and the out-of-touch establishment.

And Penguin’s acquittal by a jury is seen as a victory for freedom of expression that paved the way for a far more liberal Britain.

Lawrence’s 1928 novel is set in Nottinghamshire and is said to have been inspired by events in his own unhappy life.

It was published in Italy that year and became notorious for its explicit descriptions of sex, its use of thenunprintable four-letter words and a reference to then-illegal sex acts.

It contains 13 sex scenes and 66 swear words, from tamer terms such as “balls” and “arse” to stronger expletives. But it was not until 1960, 30 years after Lawrence’s death and a year after the Obscene Publications Act came into force, that it was printed here.

The act gave a defence to publishers if they showed that a work was of literary merit and for the public good.

The establishment’s attitude at the time was perhaps perfectly summed up by the rhetorical question posed to the Old Bailey jury by prosecutor Mervyn Griffith-Jones.

In his opening remarks he asked: “Is it a book that you would even wish your wife or your servants to read?”

The defence called 35 professors of literature, authors, journalists, editors, critics, publishers and child education experts plus four Anglican churchmen.

Each insisted the book had sufficient literary merit to deserve to be published.

On November 2 a not guilty verdict was returned and Penguin quickly went on to sell three million copies.