In the Five Towns the following history is related by those who know it as something side-splittingly funny-as one of the best jokes that ever occurred in a district devoted to jokes. And I, too, have hitherto regarded it as such. But upon my soul, now that I come to write it down, it strikes me as being, after all, a pretty grim tragedy. However, you shall judge, and laugh or cry as you please. It began in the little house of Mrs Carpole, up at Bleakridge, on the hill between Bursley and Hanbridge. Mrs Carpole was the second Mrs Carpole, and her husband was dead. She had a stepson, Horace,...

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) was a British writer. He went to work for his father but was unhappy working for his father and earning very little money. The theme of parental miserliness occurs in his works. At 21 he went to London to clerk for a solicitor. He then began working for a magazine called Women. When he noticed the poor material being submitted he began writing a serial for the periodical. Helen with the High Hand is a short comedic novel. The story begins with a chance meeting between a young girl and her older miserly uncle. Both are strong willed people who find they rather like...

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) was a British writer. He went to work for his father but was unhappy working for his father and earning very little money. The theme of parental miserliness occurs in his works. At 21 he went to London to clerk for a solicitor. He then began working for a magazine called Women. When he noticed the poor material being submitted he began writing a serial for the periodical. First published in 1910. Edwin Clayhanger is the central figure in this portrayal of Victorian lower-middle-class society. As shy young man, Edwin is bullied by his father, Darius, but he succeeds...

Set in a small industrial town at the start of the twentieth century, this is the humorous story of Edward "Denry" Machin. Denry is an impulsive, opportunistic, and occasionally lucky entrepreneur with few scruples where money-making is concerned. Not especially likeable, yet not entirely loathsome, Denry makes for a very entertaining character to both the fictional townsfolk and the readers of this tale alike. A story full of hilarity, and sure to entertain any reader, this book would make for a worthy addition to any collection. It constitutes a veritable must-read for fans of Bennett's...

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) was a British writer. He went to work for his father but was unhappy working for his father and earning very little money. The theme of parental miserliness occurs in his works. At 21 he went to London to clerk for a solicitor. He then began working for a magazine called Women. When he noticed the poor material being submitted he began writing a serial for the periodical. The Title is a three-act comedy. The scene is a sitting-room in the well-furnished West End home of the Culvers.

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) was a British writer. He went to work for his father but was unhappy working for his father and earning very little money. The theme of parental miserliness occurs in his works. At 21 he went to London to clerk for a solicitor. He then began working for a magazine called Women. When he noticed the poor material being submitted he began writing a serial for the periodical. First published in 1910. Edwin Clayhanger is the central figure in this portrayal of Victorian lower-middle-class society. As a shy young man, Edwin is bullied by his father, Darius, but he...

In the Five Towns human nature is reported to be so hard that you can break stones on it. Yet sometimes it softens, and then we have one of our rare idylls of which we are very proud, while pretending not to be. The soft and delicate South would possibly not esteem highly our idylls, as such. Nevertheless they are our idylls, idyllic for us, and reminding us, by certain symptoms, that though we never cry there is concealed somewhere within our bodies a fount of happy tears.

In the Five Towns human nature is reported to be so hard that you can break stones on it. Yet sometimes it softens, and then we have one of our rare idylls of which we are very proud, while pretending not to be. The soft and delicate South would possibly not esteem highly our idylls, as such. Nevertheless they are our idylls, idyllic for us, and reminding us, by certain symptoms, that though we never cry there is concealed somewhere within our bodies a fount of happy tears.

Originally published anonymously in the columns of The 'Academy', and reprinted years afterward, under the author's name, Bennett gives an unabashed account of his early struggles and successes on his way to becoming an English literary giant. His autobiography sheds light on what it meant to be an English writer around the turn the century. This version of Bennet's classic autobiography includes P. J. Harvey Darton's biography on the author, "Arnold Bennett" to give readers the full experience of who Arnold Bennett was.