''St Mawr'' is a short
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
(or
novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
) written by
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
. It was first published in 1925.
The heroine of the story, Lou Witt, abandons her sterile marriage and a brittle, cynical
post-First World War England. Her sense of alienation is associated with her encounter with a high-spirited stallion, the
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
ous St Mawr. She eventually settles in a remote ranch set high in the mountains of
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, near
Taos
Taos or TAOS may refer to:
Places
* Taos, Missouri, a city in Cole County, Missouri, United States
* Taos County, New Mexico, United States
** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico
*** Taos art colony, an art colo ...
.
The inspiration for the novel came from Lawrence seeing a magnificent bay stallion while staying during January 1924 in the village of
Pontesbury
Pontesbury is a village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of Shrewsbury. In the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,873 and the parish had a population of 3,227. The village of Minsterley is ju ...
, Shropshire, while visiting a writing friend Frederick Carter.
Lawrence wrote most of this brief novel whilst spending five months of the summer of 1924 at what is now known as the
D. H. Lawrence Ranch, a property which he and wife,
Frieda, acquired from
Mabel Dodge Luhan
Mabel Evans Dodge Sterne Luhan (pronounced ''LOO-hahn''; née Ganson; February 26, 1879 – August 13, 1962) was a wealthy American patron of the arts, who was particularly associated with the Taos art colony.
Early life
Mabel Ganson was the heir ...
earlier that year.
''St Mawr'' first appeared in ''St Mawr and Other Stories'' which, in addition to the novella, consists of two short stories 'The Overtone' and 'The Princess', and two unfinished stories 'The Wilful Woman' and 'The Flying Fish'. All these works were written during Lawrence's stay in America between 1922 and 1925.
Standard edition
* ''St Mawr and other stories'' (1925), edited by Brian Finney, Cambridge University Press, 1983,
References
External links
*
1925 British novels
Short stories by D. H. Lawrence
British novellas
{{1920s-story-stub