Aaron's Rod

by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

"Aaron's Rod" by D. H. Lawrence is a picaresque novel written between 1918 and 1921 and published in 1922. The story follows Aaron Sisson, a coal miner and talented flautist who abandons his family in England's Midlands to pursue his dream of becoming a professional musician in Italy. There he befriends a writer named Rawdon Lilly, enters Florence's intellectual circles, and engages in debates about politics and leadership while pursuing an affair with an aristocrat. The novel culminates with an explosive event that destroys Aaron's flute.