Lawrence's first play, A Collier's Friday Night, is a naturalistic play, a "slice of life"; as such. "Never before had working-class family life in all its vital or stifling intimacy been presented with such immediacy and authenticity. The mother, Mrs. Lambert, loves her son Ernest with a deep possessive love against which he is beginning to strain, though he loves her deeply. Mother and children all reject and despise the father, who struggles pathetically to maintain an authority and dignity only he believes in. These conflicts, just under the surface, set all their lives on edge. Any triviality can trigger an explosion." Keith Sagar D. H. Lawrence, in full David Herbert Lawrence (1885.-1930.) is one of the most influential English writer of the 20th century. His diverse output included novels, short stories, poems, plays, essays, travel books, paintings, translations, literary criticism and personal letters. In his work he confronts issues relating to emotional health and vitality, spontaneity, human sexuality and instinct.