“Perhaps the most important case in which an artistic defence was used was the Lady Chatterley trial in the United Kingdom. This trial, which took place in 1960, was to determine whether or not D. H. Lawrence’s novel could be published in Britain or should remain banned under the Obscene Publications Act. More than fifty expert witnesses were called to testify to the literary merits of the book, including E. M. Forster, Raymond Williams, and Richard Hoggart. By general consensus, Lady Chatterley’s Lover is far from Lawrence’s best book, but the witnesses made a good case for its literary merits, conscious that they were defending a writer’s freedom to express his view of life as much as defending a particular book. The book, with its repeated use of the word ‘fuck’ and detailed description of adultery, was certainly potentially offensive to many readers. The test for obscenity, though, was that it would corrupt and deprave readers. The judge in the case ruled that the book could be published (but not before asking the jury whether they thought they’d be happy for their servants to read it).”