The White Peacock is D. H. Lawrence's first novel and is set in the Eastwood area of his youth. It involves themes such as the damage associated with mismatched marriages, and the border between town and country. The book includes some notable descriptions of nature and the impact of industrialization, with a provincialism that may be compared with that of George Eliot and Thomas Hardy. D. H. Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter whose works represent a reflection upon the dehumanizing effects of modernity and industrialization. In his writings Lawrence confronts issues relating to emotional health and vitality, spontaneity, and instinct often apposing current social acceptance. E. M. Forster, in an obituary notice, described him as "the greatest imaginative novelist of our generation."