In this carefully researched and lucidly written study Luke Ferreter traces the diverse expressions of D. H. Lawrence’s religious vision... The book’s combination of original research with illuminating analyses of the fiction, discursive prose and poetry will make it indispensable reading for both students new to the author and scholars looking for a fresh, bold and comprehensive approach to this ... Read moreimportant but relatively unexplored area of Lawrence studies.
Dr Andrew Harrison, University of Nottingham, UK
Early in his career D. H. Lawrence declared that he was "primarily a passionate religious man." The Glyph and the Gramophone demonstrates the centrality of Lawrence's non-doctrinal religious beliefs to an understanding of his thought and literary works. In the bargain the book reconfirms Lawrence's status as one of the greatest English writers of the first half of the 20th century.
Keith Cushman, Past President, D. H. Lawrence Society of North America
A remarkably well-documented study of Lawrence’s religious thought based on a careful exploration of its sources and a discussion of former interpretations. The way the author traces the evolution of Lawrence’s spiritual quest throws new light on the writer’s controversial ‘leadership novels’ and is particularly helpful for our appreciation of his last works and poems.
Ginette Katz-Roy, Paris-Ouest University, France
It is a compliment to this book to say that I wanted it to be much longer. It, and the series of which it is part, are signs of the very welcome “religious turn” in criticism, which allows Lawrence to be recognised for what he undoubtedly is: homo religiosus. The book’s findings are of interest not only for the sake of a more accurate understanding of Lawrence, but for visions which may inspire certain readers – with the critic serving as mediatory priest to Lawrence’s religion … [A] serious and valuable book.
Catherine Brown
Journal of D. H. Lawrence Studies
Ferretter (British and American literature, Baylor Univ.) argues that Lawrence replaced organized religion with the idea, taken from Herbert Spencer, of an unknown God. Ferretter explains the problem using terms from Lawrence: what he desires is the glyph (the excess of signification); what he has is the gramophone (the empty signification of modernity). He lingers over Kangaroo and The Plumed Serpent, evenhandedly considering the merits and flaws of these underappreciated, problematic novels. For upper-division undergraduates through faculty.
D. Stuber, Hendrix College
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