French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. J. Scherr, Love and Death in Lawrence and Foucault
Comparative and World Literature
SCHERR, Barry J., Love and Death in Lawrence and Foucault, New York / Bern / Berlin / Bruxelles / Frankfurt am Main / Oxford / Wien, Peter Lang (Studies on Themes and Motifs in Literature), 2008, 406 p.
ISBN 978-0-8204-9540-8
ABSTRACT
Love and Death in Lawrence and Foucault is the first full-length study of Foucault and the Foucauldians not to look at them from a quasi-hagiographical perspective. The Lawrentian point of view employed here to deal with Foucault and his oeuvre is utterly unique, imaginative, and efficacious in explicating and demystifying Foucauldian theory, while at the same time promoting Barry J. Scherr's courageous, indefatigable project of “restoring” D. H. Lawrence to his rightfully and supremely high place in the pantheon of great British literature. Rebellious and unconventional yet scholarly and mature, Love and Death in Lawrence and Foucault is the bravest and most unorthodox study of Foucault to date. It is a worthy addition to Scherr's previous literary-cultural studies, D. H. Lawrence Today and D. H. Lawrence's Response to Plato. A supremely lively, incisive, lucid, and profound critique, Love and Death in Lawrence and Foucault is indispensable to students and scholars of Lawrence and Foucault alike.
BIOGRAPHY
Barry J. Scherr has published over a dozen articles on D. H. Lawrence. He is the author of D. H. Lawrence's Response to Plato (Lang, 1996) and D. H. Lawrence Today (Lang, 2004), the latter having recently been praised as “exhilarating... hard-hitting... intricate... incisive... heartening... forceful... and detailed” (Forum For Modern Language Studies) as well as “striking and unorthodox... entertaining, compelling and... infuriating” (Year's Work in English Studies). Dr. Scherr received his Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Comparative literary and cultural studies frequently bring together divergent thinkers to illuminate shared concerns within modern intellectual history. The juxtaposition of British literature and French philosophy has a long-standing tradition in twentieth-century criticism, where scholars often examine how narrative art and theoretical discourse engage with parallel questions concerning human subjectivity, authority, and desire. Barry J. Scherr contributes to this tradition by examining the writings of D.H. Lawrence alongside the theoretical framework of Michel Foucault, exploring intersections between literary expression and philosophical inquiry.
The volume engages with the reception of Michel Foucault alongside critical perspectives on D.H. Lawrence, building upon the author's previous publications in the field of literary-cultural studies. Readers interested in twentieth-century British fiction, modern literary theory, and comparative critical approaches may find the work a relevant addition to ongoing discussions concerning these major figures.