Barely suitable for a lady

IT was once described as “the foulest in the English language” but these days the DH Lawrence novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover is considered progressive, according to a poll by the National Library of Scotland.

Kirsty Irvine was examining an old version of the book from 1932 – which was edited to remove objectionable material and make it fit for publication at the time – on the roof terrace of the library yesterday to mark the release of the survey, as part of a Banned Books exhibition. The poll has revealed how attitudes have changed enormously over the past few decades over what is and isn’t acceptable in print.