Sky Arts explores the life of D. H. Lawrence

Best on the Box highlight for March 4.

Sky Arts looks at the life of novelist, poet, social critic D H Lawrence in a new documentary. His early death, the harassment he suffered, and the poverty he endured means that there is a deep sense of sadness underlying his life – despite his enormous talent.

Author of classics such Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Lawrence was initially helped by members of the Bloomsbury group but his sense of being an outsider led him to follow his own path, not least because he was not afraid in his writing and in his life of challenging established and conventional values.

D H Lawrence: Sex, Exile and Greatness is an exploration of a man who, dogged by ill-health and poverty, was often persecuted for his explicit subject matter and his uncompromising sense of personal truth.

He eventually left England and became an exile, travelling extensively throughout the world with his wife Frieda and settling in New Mexico before returning to Europe and dying in France at the age of just 44.

The documentary was produced by Odyssey Television and has a runtime of 50 minutes.

D H Lawrence: Sex, Exile and Greatness, Sky Arts, 7pm