Arnold Bennett papers

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) was born at Hanley, Staffordshire, England. His father was successively a potter, a schoolmaster, and a solicitor and pawnbroker. Arnold was educated in the local schools and in his father's office, in preparation for a law decree. At age twenty-one, he went to London, where he abandoned law for journalism. In 1893 he became assistant editor, and in 1396 editor Of tie weekly magazine Woman. He also contributed reviews and critical articles to the Academy. Bennett's first published novel was A Man From the North, 1898, which was followed in 1902 by Anna of the Five Towns and The Grand Babylon Hotel. He moved to Paris in 1902, where his novel The Old Wives' Tale was written in 1908. Bennett also began to write plays, alone, and in collaboration with Edward Knoblock. In 1912 he returned to England, where he lived the rest of his life. He continued to write novels, plays, essays, criticism, short stories and journalism, and enjoyed great critical and financial success. During the First World War, he became a public figure through his service on committees and through propaganda work. After the War, he contributed to the management of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, where revivals of "The Beggar's Opera", "The Way of the World", and "The Importance of Being Ernest" were played. Bennett married Marguerite Soulié of Paris in 1907. They were separated in 1921, and the following year he met Miss Dorothy Cheston, an English actress. They lived together until his death in 1931, and had one daughter.

Biographical Information: Dictionary of National Biography, Pound--Arnold Bennett, D. C. Bennett--Arnold Bennett.