Editing Sons and Lovers (section)

=== Part I ===

The refined daughter of a "good old burgher family," Gertrude Coppard meets a rough-hewn miner, Walter Morel, at a Christmas dance and falls into a whirlwind romance characterised by physical passion, but soon after her marriage to Walter, she realizes the difficulties of living off his meagre salary in a rented house. The couple fight and drift apart, and Walter retreats to the pub after work each day. Gradually, Mrs. Morel's affections shift to her sons beginning with the oldest, William.

As a boy, William is so attached to his mother that he does not enjoy the fair without her. As he grows older, he defends her against his father's occasional violence. Eventually, he leaves their [[Nottinghamshire]] home for a job in London, where he begins to rise up into the middle class. He is engaged, but he detests his fiancée's superficiality. William dies, and Mrs. Morel is heartbroken. When her second son, Paul, catches [[pneumonia]] she rediscovers her love for Paul.