DH Lawrence postcard to fiancee found under bed to be auctioned

Louie Burrows was engaged to the writer DH Lawrence between 1910 and 1912

A postcard sent by author DH Lawrence to his fiancee is set to be auctioned after being found in a box under a bed.

The writer of Lady Chatterley's Lover posted the message to Louie Burrows before the pair got engaged in 1910.

The couple never married and Nottinghamshire-based Lawrence broke his lover's heart by eloping with Freida Wakely in 1912.

Derbyshire auction firm Hansons said the card could fetch more than £500 when it goes on sale on 2 April.

The postcard was sent to Ms Burrows from Blackpool

Lawrence, who was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, began a romantic relationship with Louie - real name Louisa - after they met a local college, Hansons said.

The author sent the postcard while staying at a guest house in Blackpool.

It features an image of a Bleriot monoplane and reads: "Thank you for letter - I'll try to see you one day - possibly Monday week.

"We having a veritable red and yellow time here - gaudy's not the word. Saw Nina - Mary's lovely. DHL."

A Bleriot plane features on the front of the postcard

The postcard is being sold by Ms Burrows' great niece Ros Connolly after being passed down through the generations.

Ms Connolly, from Cheltenham, said: "I was given the postcard by my grandma - Louie's sister - when I was about five years old in 1955.

"I started collecting postcards as I thought they were pretty. I didn't realise the importance of Aunt Louie's postcard.

"I would like their love story to be remembered. It's a magical piece of family history."

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Hansons has given the postcard a guide price of £300 to £500 but said it could fetch "far more".

Last year, a DH Lawrence postcard that was almost thrown in a tip sold for £1,800.

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