Publisher's Synopsis
Anna of the Five Towns is a novel by Arnold Bennett, first published in 1902 and one of his best-known works. Plot summary The plot centres on Anna Tellwright, daughter of a wealthy but miserly and dictatorial father, living in the Potteries area of Staffordshire, England. Her activities are strictly controlled by the Methodist church. The novel tells of Anna's struggle for freedom and independence against her father's restraints, and her inward battle between wanting to please her father and wanting to help Willie Price whose father, Titus Price, commits suicide after falling into bankruptcy and debt. During the novel, Anna is courted by the town's most eligible bachelor Henry Mynors, and agrees to be his wife, much to her young sister Agnes' pleasure. She discovers in the end, however, that she loves Willie Price, but does not follow her heart, as he is leaving for Australia, and she is already promised to Mynors. Willie then also commits suicide. "The Five Towns" Stoke-on-Trent has become known as "The Five Towns", because of the name given to it by local novelist Arnold Bennett. In his novels, Bennett used mostly recognisable aliases for five of the six towns (although he called Stoke "Knype"). However, Bennett said that he believed "Five Towns" was more euphonious than "Six Towns", so he omitted Fenton (sometimes referred to as "the forgotten town"). In order from northwest to southeast, the towns are Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton.... Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 - 27 March 1931) was an English writer. He is best known as a novelist, but he also worked in other fields such as journalism, propaganda and film. Early life--Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which were joined together at the beginning of the 20th century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the family moved to a larger house between Hanley and Burslem.Bennett was educated locally in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Bennett was employed by his father but the working relationship failed. Bennett found himself doing jobs such as rent-collecting which were uncongenial. He also resented the low pay; it is no accident that the theme of parental miserliness is important in his novels. In his spare time he was able to do a little journalism, but his breakthrough as a writer came after he had moved from the Potteries. At the age of 21, he left his father's practice and went to London as a solicitor's clerk....
