Odour of Chrysanthemums
"Odour of Chrysanthemums" is a short story by D. H. Lawrence. It was written in the autumn of 1909 and after revision, was published in The English Review in July 1911. Lawrence later included this tale in his collection entitled The Prussian Officer and Other Stories, which Duckworth, his London publisher, bought out on 26 November 1914. An American edition was produced by B W Huebsch in 1916. Lawrence later adapted the story into the play The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd.
Plot
The story concerns Elizabeth Bates, a coal miner's wife. She has two children and is pregnant with a third. She angrily waits for her alcoholic husband to come home from the mine, but suspects that he is at the pub getting drunk. Elizabeth's neighbour runs to the pub, but her husband is nowhere to be found; it is later revealed that he died in an accident in the coal mine earlier that day. His fellow workmen return with his body, and as Elizabeth and her mother-in-law prepare him for burial, Elizabeth reflects on her husband and feels that they never really knew each other at all.
Narration
Film
In 2002 the story was adapted into a short film by Mark Partridge. The film won first prize at the Milan Film Festival.
Standard edition
- The Prussian Officer and Other Stories (1914), edited by John Worthen, Cambridge University Press, 1983, ISBN 0-521-24822-1
External links
- Cushman, Keith (2010): Critical materials: 'Odour of Chrysanthemums'., within the portal: "Odour of Chrysanthemums". A text in process. of the University of Nottingham.
- The University of Nottingham (2008): Portal to "Odour of Chrysanthemums". A text in process., writing on the text by scholars of the University of Nottingham.
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- The White Peacock (1911)
- The Trespasser (1912)
- Sons and Lovers (1913)
- The Rainbow (1915)
- Women in Love (1920)
- The Lost Girl (1920)
- Aaron's Rod (1922)
- Kangaroo (1923)
- The Boy in the Bush (1924)
- The Plumed Serpent (1926)
- John Thomas and Lady Jane (1927)
- Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928)
- The Escaped Cock (1929)
- Mr Noon (unfinished)
and novellas
- "Odour of Chrysanthemums" (1911)
- The Fox (1923)
- The Captain's Doll (1923)
- The Ladybird (1923)
- St Mawr (1925)
- The Princess (1925)
- "The Rocking-Horse Winner" (1926)
- "The Woman who Rode Away" (1928)
- The Virgin and the Gipsy (1930)
collections
- The Daughter-in-Law (1913)
- The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd (1914)
- Birds, Beasts and Flowers (1923)
- Sea and Sardinia (1921)
- Mornings in Mexico (1927)
- Sketches of Etruscan Places and Other Italian Essays (1932)
and pamphlets
- D. H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum
- D. H. Lawrence Ranch
- D. H. Lawrence Heritage Centre
- Frieda Lawrence (wife)
- Priest of Love (1981/1985 film)
- R v Penguin Books Ltd
- Films based on works
- D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study
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