2nd November 1960- The novel 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' found not guilty of obscenity

For those of you that don't know, Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence is the story of an upper-class woman who seeks solace from a cold, sexless marriage to a war-crippled husband by embarking on a torrid affair with his earthy gamekeeper.  So far, so Mills and Boon.  Except the book was actually taken to court (well, the publishers were) for being obscene and 'likely to corrupt', based on the fact that a) there's quite a lot of adulterous sex in it, b) Mellors, the gamekeeper, drops the f-bomb all the time, and c) he drops the c-bomb too.

Obviously, in the 21st Century, with the Fifty Shades series keeping the women of Britain up to speed with vanilla fetishism and cutting-edge sexual terminology, prosecuting a book because a Yorkshireman says 'fuck' while fondling a posh lady seems rather silly.  But back then, plenty of people seemed terrified enough that, upon contact with the book, the unwashed masses would immediately starting banging anything that moved while liberally sprinkling the air with as much cussing as they could muster up.

Obviously, this would only happen to poor people- who the prosecutor made it clear he was out to protect, ominously asking the jury if this was a book "you would wish your servant to read"; apparently on the misapprehension that he was holding court around the dinner table at Downton Abbey.  In fact, he often seemed less upset that the book features a few rampant accounts of sexual abandon, and more worried that Lady Chatterley had chosen to have them with a man who wasn't at the very least a Duke.

A book in court.  In 1960

Luckily, a number of learned witnesses defended the book, including the Bishop of Woolwich who suggested all Christians should read it; though he had to spoil the party somewhat by insisting this was to be done in a way that was "not instructional".  So by all means appreciate Lawrence's ability to depict the sexual act as a spiritual, almost sacred, thing- but strictly no picking up tips on how best to roger someone in a woodshed.

The subsequent clearing of the book meant that Britain began to usher in the permissive society that would eventually lead to all the drugs and free love which apparently everyone got up to in the 60s, in between wearing kaftans and listening to Donovan.  In fact, you could say that Lady Chatterley caused the decay in British society that the Daily Mail laments so much; which probably explains why, whenever anyone does a film or TV adaptation of the book, that paper tends to pour over the nude scenes in forensic detail out of sheer disgust.  Luckily, no such decline could be seen in Australia which not only continued to ban the book for many more years for being too saucy, but also banned a book on the trial as well.  This seems oddly litigious for a country where a 'libel' is usually just what you find on the side of a tin.

Getting back to adaptations of the book, Ken Russell did one for the BBC which starred Joely Richardson alongside Sean Bean's bottom, while there was a French version a few years back which is notable for featuring the superbly monickered actor Hippolyte Girardot.  The BBC version is of particular note to people of my age as it was screened when I was 12.  To a boy on the cusp of puberty, in those pre-internet days, the realisation that TV could be a portal to beam into my room unabashed lady parts and, what Simon Bates always used to call "sexual swearwords" on the BBFC classification inserts at the start of videos, was almost dizzying.

It was time for the annual barn dance at the
Borrowers Naturist camp

For men of my age, Joely Richardson romping through a meadow in the rain while, and let's not be coy about this, stark bollock naked, was what those a decade older must have felt whenever they saw Jenny Agutter go for that swim in Walkabout. And yet, did Lady Chatterley corrupt me, either as a book or a TV show?  Or course not.  Mind you, that was then.  Nowadays, a child rarely reaches their teens without having unfettered access to the internet's seemingly boundless supply of filth of every flavour.  Most 13 year old boys have an understanding of the inner workings of a woman which, until recently, would have required several years of medical training to achieve.

Is that corrupting?  Who knows.  Maybe.  But that's where we are just 50 years after a book nearly got banned for having some f-words and sex with a Yorkshireman in it.  Clearly, the world moves fast and the law hasn't bothered trying to keep up.

Maybe we need to be governed by someone tougher.  Some, I suppose, combination of a muscle-bound wrestler and an action hero.  That'd be a great idea, right?

Coming tomorrow- An American state chooses to be governed by a muscle-bound wrestler and action hero.