Lot Essay
The present work was previously in the collection of the English novelist, critic and playwright Arnold Bennett. Best known as a novelist, Bennett successfully bridged the gap between the traditional English novel and the emerging European Realism on the Continent. Living in Paris for eight years from 1903, Bennett drew inspiration from writers such as Maupassant, who now turned their attention to the plights and lives of ordinary people. Writing over thirty novels Bennett is most famed for works such as Five Towns, Clayhanger and The Old Wives’ Tale.