The Complete Short Stories of Arnold Bennett (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Tales of the Five Towns, The Grim Smile of the Five Towns, The Matador of the Five Towns, The Loot of CitiesBy Arnold Bennett
Length40h 51m
About this audiobook
The Complete Short Stories of Arnold Bennett gathers the brief fiction of one of Edwardian England's most acute realists, revealing in concentrated form the social textures, moral compromises, and quiet dramas that animate his novels. Set often amid the industrial "Five Towns" of the Potteries, these stories combine documentary precision with urbane irony, attentive characterization, and a shrewd sense of class, commerce, marriage, ambition, and self-deception. Bennett's prose is lucid and disciplined, yet richly observant, standing between Victorian realism and modernist psychological nuance. Arnold Bennett (1867–1931), born in Hanley, Staffordshire, drew deeply on the landscape, speech, and civic mentality of the pottery district in which he was raised. His early legal training, journalistic career, and cosmopolitan years in London and Paris sharpened his eye for institutions, social aspiration, and the theatricality of everyday life. These experiences helped him transform provincial material into fiction of national and enduring significance. This collection is highly recommended for readers interested in English realism, regional fiction, and the evolution of the modern short story. It offers not merely period charm, but a penetrating study of ordinary lives rendered with intelligence, sympathy, and unsentimental art.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenreGeneral Fiction, Literary Classics
Length40 hrs 51 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateSep 22, 2019
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
26Vera's First Christmas Adventure
2Introduction
27The Murder of the Mandarin
3Historical Context
28Vera's Second Christmas Adventure
4Synopsis (Selection)
29The Burglary
5Tales of the Five Towns
30News of the Engagement
Show all chaptersShow less
6Part I. At Home
31Beginning the New Year
7His Worship the Goosedriver
32From One Generation to Another
8The Elixir of Youth
33The Death of Simon Fuge
9Mary with the High Hand
34In a New Bottle
10The Dog
35The Matador of the Five Towns
11A Feud
36The Matador of the Five Towns
12Phantom
37Mimi
13Tiddy-fol-lol
38The Supreme Illusion
14The Idiot
39The Letter and the Lie
15Part II. Abroad
40The Glimpse
16The Hungarian Rhapsody
41Jock-at-a-Venture
17The Sisters Qita
42The Heroism of Thomas Chadwick
18Nocturne at the Majestic
43Under the Clock
19Clarice of the Autumn Concerts
44Three Episodes in the Life of Mr Cowlishaw
20A Letter Home
45Catching the Train
21The Grim Smile of the Five Towns
46The Widow of the Balcony
22The Lion's Share
47The Cat and Cupid
23Baby's Bath
48The Fortune Teller
24The Silent Brothers
49The Long-lost Uncle
25The Nineteenth Hat
50The Tight Hand
The Matador of the Five Towns and Other Stories (Unabridged)Arnold Bennett10h 22m3.8 (153)$10 · $0.00
The Clayhanger Trilogy (Consisting of Clayhanger + Hilda Lessways + These Twain) (Annotated)Arnold Bennett51h 28m4.2 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
Arnold Bennett: Essays, Personal Development Books, Autobiographical Works & Articles (Annotated)Arnold Bennett57h 50m$2 · $0.00
The Five Towns Series (Annotated)Arnold Bennett136h 18m4.6 (14)$3 · $0.00
Mental Efficiency And Other Hints to Men and Women (Annotated)Arnold Bennett3h 11m3.4 (301)$2 · $0.00
ARNOLD BENNETT Ultimate Collection (Annotated)Arnold Bennett361h 11m4.4 (23)$2 · $0.00
How to Live on 24 Hours a Day & The Game of Life and How to Play It (Annotated)Arnold Bennett4h 31m$2 · $0.00
How to Become an Author (Annotated)Arnold Bennett4h 40m3.8 (167)$2 · $0.00
The Roll-Call (Unabridged) (Annotated)Arnold Bennett14h 7m3.7 (171)$2 · $0.00
These Twain (Unabridged) (Annotated)Arnold Bennett18h 6m4.0 (331)$2 · $0.00
THE FEAST OF ST. FRIEND - Study on the Meaning of Christmas & Holiday Spirit (Annotated)Arnold Bennett2h 10m3.4 (34)$2 · $0.00
The Old Wives' Tale (Annotated)Arnold Bennett25h 52m4.2 (16.5K)$2 · $0.00
Anna of the Five Towns (Annotated)Arnold Bennett9h 24m4.4 (85)$2 · $0.00
How to Live (Annotated)Arnold Bennett6h 7m$2 · $0.00
The Elusive Craft of Writing (Annotated)Arnold Bennett9h 17m$2 · $0.00
How to Become a Writer (Annotated)Arnold Bennett9h 16m$2 · $0.00
Hilda Lessways (Annotated)Arnold Bennett13h 4m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Clayhanger Family Novels (Clayhanger + Hilda Lessways + These Twain + The Roll Call) (Annotated)Arnold Bennett64h 34m4.4 (76)$2 · $0.00
Mental Efficiency, and Other Hints to Men and WomenArnold Bennett1h 24m3.7 (466)$2 · $0.00
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
War LordBernard Cornwell13h 21m4.6 (33.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m4.6 (2.7K)$29 · $0.00
Black History CollectionFrederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois27h 9m4.6 (2.6K)$18 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
White HotIlona Andrews13h 18m4.5 (136.9K)$5 · $0.00
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)Jackie French14h 58m4.6 (773)$33 · $0.00
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
Five Little IndiansMichelle Good10h 34m4.5 (64.5K)$29 · $0.00
Lolth's WarriorR. A. Salvatore13h 20m4.6 (2.4K)$33 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 50m4.6 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust16h 8m4.5 (10.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie3h 50m4.6 (1.4K)$4.70 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery11h 1m4.5 (1.2M)$2.30 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
The North American IndianEdward S. Curtis, Frederick Webb Hodge6h4.5 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Uncensored 13 Chapter Version + The Revised 20 Chapter Version (Annotated)Oscar Wilde16h 12m4.5 (2.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
You may also like
The Eustace Diamonds (Annotated)Anthony Trollope30h 20m4.2 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Highlander Takes a BrideLynsay Sands9h 40m4.1 (10.9K)$29 · $0.00
The Able McLaughlins (Annotated)Margaret Wilson7h 46m3.7 (1.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
My Secret to KeepBarbara Conrey9h 24m4.4 (734)$20 · $0.00
The Tenant of Wildfell HallAnne Brontë18h 52m4.3 (191K)$4 · $0.00
Adam BedeGeorge Eliot25h 37m4.0 (56.2K)$18 · $0.00
Anna KareninaLeo Tolstoy33h 35m4.3 (1.1M)$30
Leo Tolstoy: The Complete Novels (The Greatest Novelists of All Time – Book 4) (Annotated)Leo Tolstoy165h 48m4.6 (1K)$1.99 · $0.00
Edith Wharton: New Year's Day, False Dawn, The Old Maid & The Spark (4 Books in One Edition)Edith Wharton10h 3m4.1 (3.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
Dimanche and Other StoriesIrène Némirovsky8h 21m4.0 (1.3K)$17 · $0.00
CECILIAFrances Burney44h 42m3.9 (6K)$2 · $0.00
Adam BedeGeorge Eliot22h 17m3.9 (31.9K)$3.50 · $0.00
Poor Folk and Other Stories (Unabridged)Fyodor Dostoyevsky21h 29m4.0 (1.7K)$2 · $0.00
A Certain AgeBeatriz Williams12h 52m3.7 (12.7K)$33 · $0.00
The White MonkeyJohn Galsworthy9h 21m4.1 (1.7K)$20
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Annotated)Anne Brontë20h 8m4.2 (164.7K)$2 · $0.00
The Palliser Novels: Book 1-6Anthony Trollope183h 11m4.5 (1.3K)$1 · $0.00
Howards End & A Room with a View (Annotated)E. M. Forster21h 24m4.2 (1.9K)$2 · $0.00
Rhoda Fleming — CompleteGeorge Meredith16h 59m3.5 (24)$2 · $0.00
Gobseck & At the Sign of the Cat and RacketHonoré de Balzac4h 46m$2.30