Actually, when the novel first came out, it was criticized by many people for obscenity。 One publisher called the novel "the dirtiest book he had ever read"。 That is because in Victorian time, “sex is something that is crude and dirty。 So one must pretend that it does not exist。”  However, it is regarded as a masterpiece by many critics today。 The Modern Library placed it ninth on their list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century。 Many critics have high praise for Sons and Lovers。 John Macy, a contemporary writer in 1922 comments: “Here is a masterpiece in which every sentence counts, a book crammed with significant thought and beautiful, arresting phases。”  The famous English poet and novelist Philip Larkin, describing Lawrence as "England's greatest novelist," regards Sons and Lovers as Lawrence’s finest achievement: "Cock me! Nearly every page of it is absolutely perfect。" "If Lawrence had been killed off after writing that book," Philip Larkin says, "he'd still be England's greatest novelist。 If one knocks out all his books except Sons and Lovers and Lady Chatterley he is still England's greatest writer。"  Cambridge literary critic F。 R。 Leavis also emphasizes the greatness of Sons and Lovers, “[its] qualities and its achievement, on the one hand, are obvious enough。”  The prominent British literary theorist and critic Terry Eagleton appreciates Lawrence’s writing style, “In writing Sons and Lovers Lawrence was not just writing about the working class but writing his way out of it。”