Distant Education College,Jilin University Background Knowledge Arnold Bennett (1867-1931):Arnold Bennett was an English novelist, playwright,critic and essayist.He was best known for his novels of "the Five Towns"-the English Potteries.It is the district in Staffordshire,where pottery is the chief industry.After World War I,he never returned to his birthplace except on brief visits; however,he continued to live there imaginatively.As early as 1893 he used "the Five Towns"(the potteries towns)as background of his major works.Anna of the Five Towns (1902),The Old Wives'Tale (1908)and Clayhanger (1910)all have their setting there.The story in the text also takes place in the Five Towns. Return Background Knowledge Distant Education College, Jilin University Arnold Bennett (1867-1931): Arnold Bennett was an English novelist, playwright, critic and essayist. He was best known for his novels of “the Five Towns”——the English Potteries. It is the district in Staffordshire, where pottery is the chief industry. After World War I, he never returned to his birthplace except on brief visits; however, he continued to live there imaginatively. As early as 1893 he used “the Five Towns” (the potteries towns) as background of his major works. Anna of the Five Towns (1902), The Old Wives’ Tale (1908) and Clayhanger (1910) all have their setting there. The story in the text also takes place in the Five Towns. Return