Published in 1913, Sons and Lovers is set in the English countryside, specifically the county of Nottinghamshire. The novel begins in the year 1885 and ends in 1911, and is primarily set in the fictional coal mining village of Bestwood.
Deeply autobiographical, Sons and Lovers reflects much of the author's own background and upbringing. The novel's setting is based on D.H. Lawrence's own hometown of Eastwood, also located in Nottinghamshire. Lawrence also based many of the events and characters in the novel on people in his own life; like Paul Morel he was the son of a coal miner, and Paul's long-term girlfriend Miriam Leivers was based on a former childhood friend of Lawrence's namedJessie Chambers.
Sons and Lovers is noted for its depiction of working class conditions, specifically the dangers of mining life, and the pit mines are a central location in the novel. The lives of the working class are contrasted with those of the upper and middle class, expressed in Chapter 6, for example, when Louisa Lily Denys Western, William's fiancée, visits the Morels for Christmas. Louisa's indulgent and extravagant nature, a product of her wealthy upbringing, is contrasted with the Morels' humble lifestyle.
Many of the settings in Sons and Lovers reveal distinctions in class and the differences between rural and city life, as well as the influence of industrialization. In the early to mid 1800s, many rural communities in northern England relied on coal mining for income. The advent of the Industrial Revolution (1760–1820) transformed the lives of the working class throughout England, as more and more rural people moved to towns and cities for better jobs and opportunities. All in all, Sons and Lovers reflects this period in British history. Once the eldest Morel sons reach adolescence, they forego a life of backbreaking work in the coal mines for clerical and factory work in the city, though these lifestyles have their downsides, too.
In Sons and Lovers, human beings are influenced and shaped by the land in which they work and live. Lawrence uses descriptions of nature to express the inner lives and psychology of characters, linking them directly to the landscape that surrounds them. This is expressed through the novel's detailed descriptions of nature and the English countryside, as well as the dangerous coal mines. Lawrence believed industrialization and the materialism of modern life separated humans from nature, leading to alienation and unhappiness. Lawrence's emphasis on the beauty of the natural landscape reflects a nostalgia for a pre-industrial England, and suggests to the reader that a direct relationship with nature leads to a happy, fulfilled life.
