Arnold Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley was one of the Six Towns that were joined together at the beginning of the 20th century as Stoke-on-Trent. Bennett depicted Stoke-on-Trent as "the Five Towns" and it is a common location for his novels and stories. Anna of the Five Towns, was the first of Bennett's novels about life in the Staffordshire Potteries. The Clayhanger Family and The Old Wives' Tale also draw on the experience of life in the Potteries, as did several of his other novels.
A Man from the North
Anna of the Five Towns
Tales of the Five Towns
The Grim Smile of the Five Towns
The Old Wives' Tale
Clayhanger
The Card: A Story of Adventure in the Five Towns
Hilda Lessways
The Matador Of The Five Towns
These Twain
The Roll-Call
