This is regarded as Lawrence's greatest work of literature and I find it difficult to disagree. The book is insightful, superbly written and delves deep into the familiar Lawrence areas of sex, sexuality, love, social class, & materialism. It is also written before Lawrence became embittered with society, which shows in his later works. Although the book is best (as it always is), there is also a great film of the book directed by Ken Russell and starring Oliver Reed. If you're new to Lawrence I would suggest going for `The Rainbow', `Selected Short Stories' or `Sons and Lovers' before tackling this.