Arnold Bennett

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Arnold Bennett
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Arnold Bennett (born May 27, 1867 in Hanley , Staffordshire , † March 27, 1931 in London ) was an English writer . Bennett is best known as the author of realistic novels and short stories about the "Five Towns", an imaginary (but based on his homeland) area in the north of England. These include Tales from Five Cities , The Old Wives' Tale, and the Clayhanger trilogy . In his day he was an influential critic and essayist .

Life

Bennett was born the eldest of six children to a lawyer. At 21, he went to London, where he initially worked for a law firm. But soon he was working for a weekly magazine The Woman , whose editor-in-chief he later became. He wrote his first sequel stories for Woman . Several novels followed, of which Hotel Grand Babylon (The Hotel Grand Babylon) brought him his first great success in 1902. This novel is likely to be his best-known work in Germany today.

After the appearance of Anna of Five Towns , also in 1902, Bennett decided to live in Paris , where he spent the next ten years. During this time he wrote The Old Wives' Tale , (1908) the story of two dissimilar sisters. This novel is considered his masterpiece.

During World War I Bennett worked for the War Propaganda Bureau . Eventually he became director of British propaganda in France. In 1918 he refused the offered honor of admission to the knighthood.

In 1926 he began writing an influential weekly book column, Books & Persons, for the Evening Standard . In 1922 he separated from his French wife and lived with the actress Dorothy Cheston from then until his death in 1931.

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Bennett was influenced by Émile Zola , Gustave Flaubert and Guy de Maupassant . He wrote between 70 and 80 books, sometimes with very different literary demands. Naturalistic novels with haunting social descriptions are juxtaposed with pure entertainment novels such as Buried Alive , the story of a famous painter who assumes the identity of his servant who has just died. Bennett's humor, as well as his sharp tongues and the sometimes very original views are particularly effective in his essayistic and critical writings.

His role as a critic can hardly be overestimated. Hugh Walpole called him the only literary figure who could make a book an overnight success. Among other things, he contributed to the success of William Faulkner and Theodore Dreiser . His reservations, especially those about Virginia Woolf, are better known .

Jorge Luis Borges judged him: "Enoch Arnold Bennett (...) considered himself a disciple of Flaubert, but was often a little less strict and far more pleasant: a good heir from Dickens." [In: personal library ]

Works (selection)

  • The Grand Babylon Hotel , 1902 (German. Das Grandhotel Babylon. Roman , Stuttgart 1919; most recently as the “Grand Babylon” hotel. A fantasy on modern themes. Roman , Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-7175-2016-4 )
  • Anna of the Five Towns , 1902
  • Tales of the Five Towns , 1905 (German in excerpts in Stories from the Five Cities , Potsdam 1926; later Stories from the Five Cities , Cologne and Olten 1967)
  • The Grim Smile , 1907 (German: The dark smile of the five cities in: Stories from the five cities , Cologne and Olten 1967)
  • Buried Alive , 1908 (German. Buried alive. Roman , Stuttgart 1913; several editions, most recently Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-7466-0047-2 )
  • The Old Wives' Tale , 1908 (German Konstanze and Sophie or Die alten Damen , Munich 1932, two volumes; most recently as Constance und Sophia or Die Geschichte der alten Damen , Berlin and Weimar 1971)
  • The Card , 1910 (German. A great number. Roman , Konstanz and Stuttgart 1962; most recently Bergisch Gladbach 1977 ISBN 3-404-05175-0 )
  • Clayhanger , 1910 (German Clayhanger. Roman , Zurich 1930)
  • Riceyman Steps , 1923 ( Eng . The vices of the common people. A London novel , Dresden 1927)
  • The Journals , from 1933
  • Books & Persons 1926–1931 , 1974
  • How to Live on Twenty Four Hours a Day (German How to live on 24 hours a day , Siegen 1988, ISBN 3-922524-42-7 )
  • A Great Man (Eng. A great man. A funny story , Stuttgart 1907)
  • Hugo (German Hugo. A fantasy on modern topics , Stuttgart 1909)
  • The Ghost (German Das Gespenst. Roman , Stuttgart 1911)
  • The City of Pleasure (German: The City of a Thousand Pleasures. Roman , Berlin 1925)
  • How to Make the Best of Life (German: life, love and common sense , Leipzig and Berlin 1926)
  • The Gates of Wratts (German millionaire. Roman , Stuttgart 1926)
  • The Regent (German Theater Roman , Berlin 1927)
  • Sacred and Profane Love (German heavenly and earthly love. A novel in three episodes , Berlin 1928)
  • Lord Raingo (German Lord Raingo. Roman , Stuttgart 1928)
  • Teresa of Watling Street (German Teresa. Roman , Berlin 1928)
  • Hilda Lessways (German Hilda , Munich and Zurich 1930)
  • Allegria Inspiration (German: Every day belongs to you , Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-7934-2058-3 or ISBN 3-7934-2058-2 )

Film adaptations

literature

  • John Carey: Hatred of the masses. Intellectuals 1880-1939. Göttingen 1996, pp. 186-220

Film adaptations

script
Literary template

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bennett, Arnold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1867
PLACE OF BIRTH Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent) , Staffordshire
DATE OF DEATH March 27, 1931
Place of death London