Introduction

The short story is often viewed as an inferior relation to the Novel. But it is an art in itself. To take a story and distil its essence into fewer pages while keeping character and plot rounded and driven is not an easy task. Many try and many fail. In this series we look at short stories from many of our most accomplished writers. Miniature masterpieces with a lot to say.

About Arnold Bennett

In this volume we examine some of the short stories of Arnold Bennett. 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. For a short time he worked for his solicitor father before realising that to advance his life he would need to become his own man. Moving to London at 21, he obtained work as a solicitor's clerk and gradually moved into a career of journalism. At the turn of the century he turned full time to writing and shortly thereafter, in 1903, he moved to Paris. 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. Bennett bathes us in vignettes of life, replete with characters that are easy to immerse ourselves in, whatever their ambitions may be.

Additional Resources

All of these stories are also available as an audiobook from our sister company Word Of Mouth. Many samples are at our YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/PortablePoetry?feature=mhee. The audiobook volume of this book can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon, and other digital stores. They are read for you by Richard Mitchley.