Arnold Bennett was a British novelist, playwright, critic, and essayist whose major works form an important link between the English novel and the mainstream of European realism. In this book the critic August Nemo brings seven specially selected short stories: The Lion's ShareThe BurglaryNews of the EngagementBeginning the New YearFrom One Generation to AnotherThe Death of Simon FugeIn a New Bottl

This carefully crafted ebook collection is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Table of Contents: Tales of the Five Towns: Part I. At Home His Worship the Goosedriver The Elixir of Youth Mary with the High Hand The Dog A Feud Phantom Tiddy-fol-lol The Idiot Part II. Abroad The Hungarian Rhapsody The Sisters Qita Nocturne at the Majestic Clarice of the Autumn Concerts A Letter Home The Grim Smile of the Five Towns: The Lion's Share Baby's Bath The Silent Brothers The Nineteenth Hat Vera's First Christmas Adventure The Murder of the Mandarin Vera's Second Christmas Adventure The Burglary News of the Engagement Beginning the New Year From One Generation to Another The Death of Simon Fuge In a New Bottle The Matador of the Five Towns: The Matador of the Five Towns Mimi The Supreme Illusion The Letter and the Lie The Glimpse1 Jock-at-a-Venture The Heroism of Thomas Chadwick Under the Clock Three Episodes in the Life of Mr Cowlishaw Dentist Catching the Train The Widow of the Balcony The Cat and Cupid The Fortune Teller The Long-lost Uncle The Tight Hand Why the Clock Stopped Hot Potatoes Half-a-Sovereign The Blue Suit The Tiger and the Baby The Revolver An Unfair Advantage The Woman who Stole Everything A Place in Venice The Toreador Middle-Aged The Umbrella House to Let Claribel Time to Think One of Their Quarrels "What I Have Said I Have Said" Death, Fire, and Life The Epidemic A Very Romantic Affair The Loot of Cities Mr. Penfound's Two Burglars Midnight at the Grand Babylon The Police Station The Adventure of the Prima Donna The Episode in Room 222 Saturday to Monday A Dinner at the Louvre

The Grand Babylon Hotel is an exclusive London establishment, and American millionaire Theodore Racksole, visiting the hotel with his spirited 23-year-old daughter Nella, decides to buy the place. What he hasn't counted on is having to deal with a criminal conspiracy whose purposes are not at all clear, and events take an unexpected turn as Theodore and Nella play detective. Replete with evil villains, physical dangers, and secret passages, The Grand Babylon Hotel is a mesmerizing thriller that will be enjoyed by mystery lovers everywhere.

In 1902, Anna of the Five Towns, the first of a succession of stories written by Arnold Bennett and which detailed life in the Potteries, appeared. His books draw on his experience of life in the Potteries, as did most of his best work. In his novels the Potteries are referred to as "the Five Towns"; Bennett felt that the name was more euphonious than "the Six Towns" so Fenton was omitted. Several of his books set in the Potteries have been made into films. Critically, Bennett has not always had an easy ride. His output was prodigious and, by his own admission, based on maximizing his income rather than from creative necessity. As Bennett put it: "Am I to sit still and see other fellows pocketing two guineas apiece for stories which I can do better myself? Not me. If anyone imagines my sole aim is art for art's sake, they are cruelly deceived." Contemporary critics-Virginia Woolf in particular-perceived weaknesses in his work, and for much of the 20th Century, Bennett's work was tainted by this perception; it was not until the 1990s that a more positive view of his work became widely accepted. This edition includes: Tales of the Five Towns - (short story collection 1905) The Grim Smile of the Five Towns - (short stories 1907) The Matador of the Five Towns - (short stories 1912)