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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 822
EAN: 9780141180762
ISBN: 0141180765
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 256
Publication Date: 1999-10-01
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Studio: Penguin Classics

An authoritative edition of "the most charming book Lawrence ever wrote" (Anthony Burgess)

In January 1921, D. H. Lawrence and his wife, Frieda visited Sardinia, a Mediterranean island west of Italy. Although the trip lasted only nine days, Lawrence wrote an intriguing account of Sardinian life that not only evokes the place, people, and local customs but is also deeply revealing about the writer himself.

Remarkable for its metaphoric and symbolic descriptions, the book is transfused with the author's anger and joy. His prejudices and his political prophecies make Sea and Sardinia a unique and dynamic piece of travel writing. This Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics edition reproduces the Cambridge text, which restores censored passages and corrects corrupt textual readings to reveal--for the first time--the book Lawrence himself called "a marvel of veracity." Also featured are an illuminating Introduction by Lawrence scholar Mara Kalnins, a Chronology, Explanatory Notes, and an Italian Glossary.

"A wonderful book . . . no one who has really thrilled to Lawrence can ever give him up."--Philip Larkin

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Acutely revealing, of time, place and writer
Review: As described in the other reviews, and the accompanying comments within the book itself, this is DHL as non-fiction travel writer. Note that it was written after the completion of his major works, and what it says about his views, his relationships, and the immediate post-WWI period in portions of Italy. Particularly fascinating are the local/regional/national and continental attitudes. The more things change, the more they . . .

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: DHL and the Queen Bee do Sardinia
Review: In 1921, D.H. Lawrence joined the British literary tradition of writing a travelogue. He and wife Frieda, "the Queen Bee," were weary of Sicily where they were staying and selected Sardinia for its promise of unspoiled primitiveness and lack of "tourist-parasites." Though SEA AND SARDINIA follows many of the conventions of the travelogue genre of the time, playing to the market for a foreign experience, moments of wonder mixed with irony and nationalistic-centric sentiments, it is also a self-revealing journal in which Lawrence's passions, rages and perspectives get a frequent work-out.

As travelogues go, SEA AND SARDINIA may be found somewhat lacking in the description of landmarks. Lawrence focuses on encounters with the people, who presented a multi-layered lesson in the collision of the ancient with the 20th century and the recent war. In speaking to the audience back home, Lawrence often expresses himself in literary and historical allusion and his musings ring with a psychological resonance that is both intentional and unintentional. The result is an entertaining and informative experience that imparts much about post-war Europe and this particular traveler.

This is a fine critical edition. The annotations are discretely listed at the back of the book, with no disruptive footnotes blotting the page. There are also a good map, a glossary of Italian words and phrases and a brief bibliography following the text. A chronology of Lawrence's career precedes it, as does a critical introduction. Despite the quality of the introduction, I heartily recommend reading it AFTER you've enjoyed the text on your own terms, because it gives away some of the surprises (as critical introductions are wont to do).

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