The Escaped Cock

"The Escaped Cock" is a short novel by D. H. Lawrence that was originally written in two parts and published in 1929. Lawrence wrote the first part in 1927 after visiting some Etruscan tombs with his friend Earl Brewster, a trip that encouraged the author to reflect upon death and myths of resurrection. The second part was added in 1928 during a stay in Gstaad in Switzerland. Black Sun Press first published "The Escaped Cock" as a limited edition in September 1929.

"The Escaped Cock" was always Lawrence's preferred title for this tale but it has also been printed under the title "The Man Who Died" by some later publishers. In February 1930, the dying Lawrence was negotiating about an unlimited edition with the London publisher, Charles Lahr. Lahr asked for the title to be changed to "The Man Who Died" and Lawrence eventually agreed, insisting that the original title should be retained as a subtitle. This projected Lahr edition failed to appear and the first English edition was eventually published by Martin Secker in September 1931 as "The Man Who Died", a title never approved by the author.

Plot introduction

The story is a recasting of the resurrection of Christ narrated in the New Testament. The man who survives his crucifixion comes to celebrate his bodily existence and sensuality. Lawrence himself summarized "The Escaped Cock" in a letter to Brewster:

'I wrote a story of the Resurrection, where Jesus gets up and feels very sick bout everything, and can't stand the old crowd any more - so cuts out - and as he heals up, be begins to find what an astonishing place the phenomenal world is, far more marvellous than any salvation or heaven - and thanks his stars he needn't have a mission any more.'

Further reading

* "The Complete Short Novels", Edited by Keith Sagar and Melissa Partridge, Penguin English Library, 1982