I Rise in Flame, Cried the Phoenix
THE STORY: The author refers to his work as “imaginary.” The basic facts, however, are well known. There are three characters, Lawrence himself, Frieda and Bertha Brett, and the scene is a sunporch at a small retreat in the Alpes Maritimes. We see Lawrence at the very end of his career, in fact the very day he dies, and recognize him as the erratic, inspired, ill-tempered genius who was never able to come to terms with life. Yet he stands revealed here as the man who, in Mr. Williams’ words, “… felt the mystery and power of sex, as the primal life urge, and was the life-long adversary of those who wanted to keep the subject locked away in the cellars of prudery."