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

Share this article  
  share on facebook     share on twitter  

Review – Asylum for Sale: profit and protest in the migration industry

Siobhán McGuirk and Adienne Pine's edited volume is a powerful indictment of the modern migration complex writes Nico Vaccari

End SARS and Fanon’s mission

The uprisings against police brutality that swept across Nigeria must be contextualised within the country’s colonial history, argues Kehinde Alonge

In the shadow of student rent strikes

Outside the media fanfare surrounding the recent wave of university-based militancy, one community's fight against developers goes on. Robert Firth reports

The conspiracy election

Conspiracy theories aren’t the preserve of a minority – they lie at the heart of US politics, argues Thomas Konda

Review – National Theatre Connections 2020: Plays for young people

From climate change to the perils of the information era, the collection powerfully explores the struggles facing contemporary teenagers, writes Jordana Belaiche

The convivial, practical road to socialism: a tribute to Leo Panitch

Hilary Wainwright remembers friend and mentor to many, Leo Panitch, who died on December 19, 2020