Our recent, flying, visit to Stoke-on-Trent reminded me of the novels of one of my favourite authors: Arnold Bennett. I’ve written before about some of his novels, and the very public disagreements with Virginia Woolf, which effectively killed his legacy.
Arnold Bennett wrote many novels, all in the realist style popular in the early years of the 20th century. Many of them are set in the industrialised towns of Staffordshire. Probably his most well-known novel is Anna of the Five Towns. In his depiction of an industrialised town Bennett's novel has much in common with Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South, although the heroines of the novels: Anna and Margaret have very different personalities. Anna is passive, constrained and controlled by a strict and miserly father, whilst Margaret is strong-willed, confident and influential.
Anna of the Five Towns is an excellent depiction of the impact of industrialisation on communities. Although in tone it tends towards the bleak and pessimistic, unlike Gaskell's more hopeful and reformist tone.
I have always been intrigued why Bennett, born and bred in the Potteries, chose to focus on five towns rather than the six which make up Stoke-on-Trent. Whilst he fictionalised the names of the towns he clearly omited Fenton from his novel. The five towns are: Burslem (Bursley), Hanley (Hansbridge), Longton, (Longshaw), Tunstall (Turnhill) and Stoke-on-Trent (Knype), but no Fenton. Very intriguing and puzzling.
Anna of the Five Towns is an excellent novel but, on balance, I think I prefer Bennett's less industrialised fiction including Clayhanger and The Old Wives' Tale.
There is an 1985 BBC adaptation of Anna which I think we might watch soon, if Chris can find a good version for us.