The Rainbow
'The Rainbow' Summary
The Rainbow tells the story of three generations of the Brangwen family, a dynasty of farmers and craftsmen who live in the east Midlands of England, on the borders of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. The book spans a period of roughly 65 years from the 1840s to 1905, and shows how the love relationships of the Brangwens change against the backdrop of the increasing industrialisation of Britain. The first central character, Tom Brangwen, is a farmer whose experience of the world does not stretch beyond these two counties; while the last, Ursula, his granddaughter, studies at university and becomes a teacher in the progressively urbanised, capitalist and industrial world.
The book starts with a description of the Brangwen dynasty, then deals with how Tom Brangwen, one of several brothers, fell in love with a Polish refugee and widow, Lydia. The next part of the book deals with Lydia's daughter by her first husband, Anna, and her destructive, battle-riven relationship with her husband, Will, the son of one of Tom's brothers. The last and most extended part of the book, and also probably the most famous, then deals with Will and Anna's daughter, Ursula, and her struggle to find fulfilment for her passionate, spiritual and sensual nature against the confines of the increasingly materialist and conformist society around her. She experiences a same-sex relationship with a teacher, and a passionate but ultimately doomed love affair with Anton Skrebensky, a British soldier of Polish ancestry. At the end of the book, having failed to find her fulfilment in Skrebensky, she has a vision of a rainbow towering over the Earth, promising a new dawn for humanity:
"She saw in the rainbow the earth's new architecture, the old, brittle corruption of houses and factories swept away, the world built up in a living fabric of Truth, fitting to the over-arching heaven."
Book Details
Author
D. H. Lawrence
England
David Herbert Lawrence was an English writer and poet. His collected works represent, among other things, an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation. Lawre...
More on D. H. LawrenceDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books
New Adventures of Alice by John Rae
The book opens with a little girl, Betsy, wishing for another Alice book. She passes into a dream, and finds in the attic a book which begins with Ali...
Bonne-Marie, a Tale of Normandy and Paris by Henry Gréville
"A young woman's journey from the shores of Normandy to the bustling streets of Paris." In this novel, Henry Gréville tells the story of Bonne-Marie,...
Baseball Joe on the School Nine by Lester Chadwick
In the heart of a bustling American town, a young boy named Joe Matson harbors an unwavering passion for baseball. With a natural talent and a fierce...
Haste and Waste; The Young Pilot of Lake Champlain by Oliver Optic
Embrace the thrill of adventure and the lessons of hard work and responsibility in Oliver Optic's captivating tale, "Haste and Waste; The Young Pilot...
Looking Backward: 2000-1887 by Edward Bellamy
The book tells the story of Julian West, a young American who, towards the end of the 19th century, falls into a deep, hypnosis-induced sleep and wake...
A Modern Utopia by H. G. Wells
A Modern Utopia is a 1905 novel by H. G. Wells. Because of the complexity and sophistication of its narrative structure, A Modern Utopia has been cal...
Philomène's Marriages by Henry Gréville
Philomène, a beautiful and intelligent young woman, is married off to a wealthy man she doesn't love. But this is just the beginning of her extraordin...
The Goddess: A Demon by Richard Marsh
The Goddess: A Demon is a novel by Richard Marsh. It was originally serialized in Manchester Weekly Times and Salford Weekly News in twelve installmen...
Deeds of Daring done by Girls by Hannah Hudson Moore
In a world where courage knows no gender, "Deeds of Daring Done by Girls" unveils an extraordinary tapestry of inspirational stories that challenge co...
The Ship of Ishtar by Abraham Merritt
In this, readers are transported to a world of forgotten legends and hidden treasures. John Kenton, an American adventurer, finds himself drawn into a...
Reviews for The Rainbow
No reviews posted or approved, yet...