Of all the countless anecdotes told of D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930), my absolute favorite takes in the musician-cum-critic Cecil Gray, Lawrence’s neighbor during his World War I-era sojourn in Cornwall. The story goes that Gray, hard at work one morning in his remote cottage, heard a knock at the door. It opened to reveal the author of “The Rainbow”—bearded, beady-eyed and intent—who without preamble demanded: “How long is it, Gray, since you have loved me?” What Gray is supposed to have said in return is not recorded; shortly afterward Lawrence could be seen making his way back over the fields to the house he shared with his recently acquired wife, the former Frieda von Richthofen.
