Bennett, (Enoch) Arnold (1867-1931)

English novelist, playwright, and journalist. His major works are set in the industrial ‘five towns’ of the Potteries in Staffordshire (now Stoke-on-Trent) and are concerned with the manner in which the environment dictates the pattern of his characters' lives. They include Anna of the Five Towns (1902), The Old Wives' Tale (1908), and the trilogy Clayhanger, Hilda Lessways, and These Twain (1910-15).

Bennett often describes working-class life in great detail but rarely offers any comments or judgements on it. He also wrote a number of successful plays including Milestones (with Edward Knoblock; 1912).

Bennett was born in Shelton, near Hanley in the Potteries, and studied at London University. In 1889 he began working in a solicitor's office in London but in 1893 he moved into journalism, became assistant editor of Woman, and served as editor from 1896-1900.

His first novel was A Man from the North (1898). In the same year appeared Journalism for Women and in 1899 Polite Farces, his first play; but it was with Anna of the Five Towns that he made his name. Other novels include Buried Alive (1908), The Price of Love (1914), Lilian (1923), Riceyman Steps (1923), Lord Raingo (1926), The Strange Vanguard (1928), and Accident (1929).

Bennett's plays include Cupid and Common Sense (1908), What the Public Wants (1909), The Honeymoon (1911), Judith (1919), The Love Match (1922), Body and Soul (1922), London Life (with Edward Knoblock) (1924), and Mr Prohack (1927).