How Lady Chatterley disappointed expectations
SIR – I well recall my grandfather arriving home on the day of the verdict allowing publication of the unexpurgated version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Letters, May 6), clutching a copy of the book.
He had joined a long queue at
W H Smith’s in Paddington Station to secure his copy from the large display set up to attract commuters.
He sat down and read it from cover to cover, even forgoing supper. On finishing, he threw it down and said: “What a waste of time, there’s nothing interesting in it at all.”
My aunt, who had picked it up, said: “You fool, Father, you’ve bought the expurgated version.”
That’s how the bookshop chain got rid of all its old copies before stocking the unexpurgated version. Richard Longfield
Weston Patrick, Hampshire
SIR – When I was 17 I borrowed Lady Chatterley’s Lover from my local library and read it with a torch under the bed covers. Unfortunately, I failed to take it back within the allotted time.
A postcard telling me it was overdue was delivered and picked up by my very religious mother. I won’t repeat what she (and my father) said.
Audrey Buxton
Kenilworth, Warwickshire