20 October

'I put my feet up on the desk and start reading. If I get an erection, we prosecute.'

October 20, 2009 · 1 min read

Mervyn Griffiths was the prosecuting counsel in the 1960 trial of Penguin Books under the Obscene Publications Act for publishing the unexpurgated version of D H Lawrence’s novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The trial began on 20 October with Griffiths’ opening speech, in which he famously asked the jury:

‘Would you approve your young sons, young daughters – because girls can read as well as boys – reading this book? Is it a book you would have lying around in your own house? Is it a book you would wish even your wife or your servants to read?’

See also 2 November: The jury’s verdict

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