Showing results by author "Arnold Bennett" in All Categories

The Old Wives' Tale is broken up into four parts, and the lives of two sisters are laid bare: one timid and unassuming, the other romantic and adventurous. From working as children in their family's drapery shop to their later years, Constance and Sophia's journey through life could not be more different. While one travels the world and defies male expectations, the other becomes a dutiful wife and mother.

This classic personal time-management book, originally published in 1908, has inspired generations of men and women to live deliberate lives. Not just another collection of timesaving tips, this book is more of a challenge to leave behind mundane everyday concerns, focus on pursuing one's true desires, and live the fullest possible life. Reflection, concentration, and study techniques make it easier to accomplish more truly rewarding undertakings than anyone ever dreamed possible.

In this radical reinterpretation of six brilliant Arnold Bennett novels, it’s the 19th-century Midlands and over 10-and-a-half sweeping hours individuals rise and fall, they age, flourish, and try to keep up as the world around them changes into something unrecognisable, transformed by new technology. Fortunes are made and lost, hearts broken, empires built and deals made. These tales of aspiration and passion, damage and danger are told with Bennett's forensic, (journalist’s) eye for human psychology and a surprising degree of witty comedy.

Written in 1911, The Card is the story of Edward Henry (Denry) Machin, who rises from washerwoman's son to the Mayor of Bursley (Burslem in the Potteries town of Stoke-on-Trent) via a mixture of gentle deceit and personal hype. He is literally a trickster of confidence. His rise to fame is begun at an exclusive ball to which he has got himself invited, where he has the audacity to claim a dance with the glamourous but imposing Countess of Chell.

In the industrial heart of Victorian England–now Stoke-on-Trent–lonely Anna Tellwright is dominated by her miserly, bullying father and the strict Methodist community of Bursley. Inheriting a fortune does not free her from subjugation: every direction has an obstacle and Anna must choose between the ambitious Henry Mynors (duty) and the sensitive Willie Price (desire). Will she break free from society’s expectations or succumb to the life laid out for her? Bennett’s depiction of the Potteries brings to life a world of social pressures, moral dilemmas, and the struggle for personal freedom.

The inevitable is understood by each and every one of us who faces the final calling. So too are the effects on those left behind. The memories are there but the empty space, the void can never be refilled. It remains a dark, unreliable pit of loneliness. The sadness and often depression, the lack of will to continue may swamp us all. Unquenchable, undeniable. But loss can, after mourning, give the opportunity to reappraise the lost and how we can each move forward. In the literary world an accessible balance can be given.

Set in stifled, industrial Staffordshire in the late 19th century, against a strong evangelical background, Anna of the Five Towns tells of the courting of hard businessman Ephraim Tellright's daughter by prosperous and accomplished Henry Mynors. As her father's fortune grows, so does Anna understanding. She realises her legacy and responsibility for the possible ruination of her father's tenants, Titus Price and his son, Willie, who also loves her.

Step into the luxurious world of The Grand Babylon Hotel by Arnold Bennett and discover why this novel is a classic of English literature! Follow the story of Leonora, a young woman who becomes embroiled in the scandal and intrigue of a prestigious London hotel, as she navigates the complexities of love, society, and class. With its richly drawn characters, captivating plot, and themes of romance and redemption, The Grand Babylon Hotel is a must-listen for anyone who loves a good mystery or romance. So why wait? Start listening to The Grand Babylon Hotel today and be swept away by the glamour ...

It is 1919 shortly after the termination of the 1st European holocaust. Henry Earlforward, a middle aged North London Bookseller, courts and marries Violet Arb, a widow who has inherited the confectioners shop opposite his own premises in Riceyman Square. Henry and Violet engage the services of Elsie as ‘charwoman’.

Arnold Bennett's... splendidly comic portrayal of Edward Henry Machin, known as Denry to his mother to save time, is set in Bursley, one of the author's Five Towns of Staffordshire. Starting in 1897, when Denry first saw the smoke of the potbanks, the tale chronicles his rise to fame and wealth including such events as improving his exam results to guarantee success, adjusting the guest list of the municipal ball to include himself and then daring to ask the Countess of Chell to dance!

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Arnold Bennett's tale of love, tyranny and rebellion, 'Anna of the Five Towns'. Brought up in the repressive tradition of Methodism by her miserly father, Anna Tellwright dreams of independence and freedom. On coming of age she learns that she is to inherit a...

When American millionaire Theodore Racksole and his 23-year-old daughter Nella stumble upon The Grand Babylon Hotel, an exclusive London establishment, they are so struck by the fascinating building that Theodore decides to purchase it. But soon a criminal conspiracy arises that endangers that purchase, and Theodore and Nella must turn detective to protect it.

Arnold Bennett was an English novelist and author. Among his most popular novels are The Grand Babylon Hotel and Anna of the Five Towns. However, none of his novels approached the popularity of his little book, "How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day." It caused a sensation when first printed and continues to be printed and widely read today. In it, he offers practical advice on how one might live (as opposed to just existing ) within the confines of 24 hours a day.

Arnold Bennett was born in 1867 in Hanley, one of the six towns that formed the Potteries that later joined together to become Stoke-on-Trent - the area in which most of his works are located. In 1908 Bennett published The Old Wives' Tale, to great acclaim. With this, his reputation was set. Clayhanger and The Old Wives' Tale are perhaps his greatest and most lauded novels. But standing next to these are many fine short stories and it is to these that we turn our attention in this audiobook.

Murder mystery by Arnold Bennett, adapted in two parts by Chris Harrald. Episode 1. American tycoon Theodore Racksole buys Europe's most exclusive hotel on a whim, but is warned by the seller that he will live to regret it. Soon, a mysterious death occurs and Theodore and his daughter Nella...

Learn to use your most precious commodity—time—to truly live. Arnold Bennett’s classic book, How to Live on 24 Hours a Day, has been changing the way people use and consider their time since it was first published in 1910. In the intervening century surprisingly little has changed—we...

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. The zenith of Empire is bookended by two catastrophic wars that slaughter vast swathes of humanity. And yet authors manage to record and create fragile libraries of humanity, its talents, its dreams and increasingly its nightmares.

A spectacular collection of outstanding half-hour short stories...perfect for commuters or bedtime listening. 'The Whistle' by Hugh Walpole, 'The Well' by W. W. Jacobs, 'The Scrupulous Father' by George Gissing, 'The Debt' by Edith Wharton, 'The Problem of the Five Marks' by Melville Davisson Post, 'The Purple Wig' by G. K. Chesterton, 'Pickman's Model' by H. P. Lovecraft, 'Humplebee' by Geroge Gissing.

Helen Rathbone meets her elderly uncle, James Ollerenshaw, in Bursley Park, after an estrangement of several years. Both are very strong-willed, independent characters. Helen has an extravagant lifestyle and likes to spend money while the old man has lived a thrifty life and intends to continue in the same way. However, they develop a friendship which progresses rapidly, and Helen moves in to James' house to look after him.

With the advent of the modern corporate workplace in the twenty-first century, more and more people are toiling away behind desks, wearily clocking the standard forty-hour week. By 1910, writer Arnold Bennett had observed a worrying trend of exhausted wage-earners whose waking hours revolved around their jobs and who had little time to spend on the business of actually living.