So much that is good begins with the Lady Chatterley trial – Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer

In May 2019, English PEN launched a crowdfunding campaign for a rare annotated copy of DH Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The copy in question was used by the presiding judge, the Hon. Sir Laurence Byrne, during the 1960 obscenity trial, one of the most important cases in British literary and social history .

The judge’s copy, annotated by his wife Lady Dorothy Byrne, was recently sold to an anonymous overseas bidder. However, because of its unique importance in British history, the arts minister, Michael Ellis, has determined that it should remain in the UK, and has placed a temporary bar preventing its overseas export if a UK-based bidder can match its price.

Our aim is to raise £56,250 to keep this copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover in the UK. We’re hugely grateful for all the support we have received to date: thanks to over 130 donors including Lawrence’s publishers Penguin Books and the TS Eliot Estate we have now reached over a third of our target.

We are also very grateful for the support of many individuals, including Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer who, in addition to their generous donation, have also given us five specially hand-annotated copies of Lady Chatterley’s Lover to auction in order to raise additional funds. Amanda has also kindly offered a pair of tickets to any show on her tour ‘there will be no intermission‘ (in the UK/Ireland/Europe) to the successful bidders. The lots are now live on eBay.

Follow the links below to find out more and place your bids!

You can find out more about the campaign and make a donation here.