Is the 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' Movie Ending Different From the Book?

Find out how the Netflix film ending differs from D.H. Lawrence's novel ending.

Lady Chatterley's Lover is the latest steamy bodice ripper on Netflix. The Lady Chatterley's Lover book ending by D.H. Lawrence is decidedly different from the movie's conclusion—but there are big similarities are well.

Obviously, beware of spoilers ahead for both the book and the film: Here are the differences between the Lady Chatterley's Lover movie ending and book ending.

What is the storyline of Lady Chatterley's Lover?

The basic storylines of both the movie and the book Lady Chatterley's Lover are the same: Constance "Connie" Reid (aka the titular Lady Chatterley) is married to a handsome, upper-crust Baronet named Sir Clifford Chatterley. While that sounds great on paper, he is paralyzed from the waist down and impotent from a World War I injury, which means Connie's sexual needs aren't being met. What's more, he begins associating with pretentious intellectuals, which doesn't appeal to Connie at all.

Connie has an unsatisfying fling with a visiting playwright that goes nowhere. When she meets Oliver Mellors, the gameskeeper for the estate, they detest each other at first—but their sexual tension gets the best of them. They can't keep their hands (and other things) off of each other and embark on a full-blown affair that leads to Connie's sexual reawakening.

Of course, there are big issues here: Oliver, too, is married. Oliver takes steps to divorce his wife Bertha, who retaliates by spreading rumors about Oliver that get him fired from the estate.

Another big problem? Connie is pregnant. She confesses her affair to Sir Clifford, knowing she can't hide it anymore, but he refuses to divorce her.

A major theme of the book is that the body needs to be nourished as much as the mind does in a relationship and life as a whole.

Does Lady Chatterley's Lover have a happy ending?

The movie adaptation of Lady Chatterley's Lover has a happy ending: Connie goes to Venice with her sister Hilda and their father, and when they return to London, Hilda gives Connie a letter from Oliver. In it, Oliver reveals he's working on a farm in the Scottish Highlands and invites her to join him there. She sets out to reunite with him, and the film ends with Connie and Oliver embracing.

How does Lady Chatterley's Lover movie ending differ from the book's ending?

The book, however, is more ambiguous: The book ends with Connie reading Oliver's letter. We don't know what moves she makes, if any, after reading it.

Is Lady Chatterley's Lover worth reading?

Lady Chatterley's Lover was one of the steamiest tomes of its time (it was first published in 1928), though relatively tame in comparison with Julia Quinn's Regency-era romps. If you're into bodice rippers that aren't too explicit, as well as examinations of classism and the mind-body connection, it's certainly worth at least skimming.