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Gran Hotel Babylon es la obra que lanzó a la fama a Arnold Bennet. La novela nunca ha dejado de reeditarse en Inglaterra y fue la que más beneficio económico le reportó en toda su carrera; tuvo un éxito considerabilísimo por su perfecta maquinaria narrativa y su calibrada dosificación de efectos dramáticos. Esta obra es una pieza de entidad notable. Los ambientes, por ejemplo, por los que transitan los personajes de la emocionante intriga (desde el gigantesco hotel de lujo hasta el desolado y complejo ámbito portuario londinense; la bolsa y su mar de complejas transacciones hasta los palacios del juego y la diversión) están descritos con mano maestra, ofreciendo un fresco inigualable de la Inglaterra fin de siglo, no inferior a ciertas novelas de mayor entidad dramática. Un multimillonario estadounidense, junto a su caprichosa pero sagaz hija, Nella, recalan en Londres, en el mejor hotel de la ciudad y por extensión del mundo civilizado, el Gran Hotel Babylon. Por un capricho azaroso, se convierten en los dueños del hotel y comienza la aventura de sus vidas, gracias a un director que se jubila anticipadamente, a un personal de servicio variopinto y algo deshonesto, a un príncipe empobrecido de la realeza que desaparece misteriosamente y al que han de ir a buscar.

Seleccionada por Jorge Luis Borges como parte de su biblioteca personal, Enterrado en vida es una divertida comedia de enredo, suplantación de personalidad y dobles identidades. El protagonista de la novela es Priam Farll, el pintor más famoso de Inglaterra quien, víctima de su extrema timidez, vive en el extranjero junto a su criado Henry Leek. Un día regresan a su país natal y Leek muere súbitamente de pulmonía, pero el doctor que confirma la muerte confunde las identidades de los dos personajes y pronto salta la noticia de que el famoso pintor ha fallecido. Es entonces cuando Farll decide fingir que es en realidad su criado y asistir a su propio entierro en la abadía de Westminster.

Though originally published more than a century ago, Arnold Bennett's novel Leonora is brimming with nuanced insights about the true nature of marriage that still resonate today. The eponymous heroine is the wife of a prominent and wealthy manufacturing titan who enjoys the trappings of his success. But when a figure from his past reappears, Leonora begins to question everything she once believed to be true about her husband and their relationship.

A hopelessly mismatched niece and uncle find themselves thrown together by circumstance. But underneath their constant bickering and nitpicking, the pair truly cares about each other. Will this hilariously dysfunctional duo find a way to make their nontraditional household work?

This stirring coming-of-age story recounts the childhood and youth of the eponymous protagonist, Hilda Lessways, who would eventually grow up to marry Edwin Clayhanger, the scion of a wealthy and powerful family in the Potteries district of the Midlands region in England. This is the second in a series of novels that depict the lives of the members of the Clayhanger family.

Arthur Prohack is a bureaucrat who relishes carrying out his duties with precision and accuracy. His exceedingly high expectations have earned him grudging respect -- and a measure of fear -- from his colleagues and underlings. When Prohack unexpectedly receives a windfall, his comfortable middle-class existence is turned upside down. Will he be able to adjust to his new status?

British author Arnold Bennett returns to his native stomping grounds -- the Potteries district of England's West Midlands region -- with this collection of insightful, darkly witty stories about the denizens of the fictionalized'Five Towns.'From love gone wrong to mischief and misadventure, these sharply drawn tales run the gamut.

British author Arnold Bennett's most acclaimed and enduring works are a series of novels set around the Potteries district of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, his native region. This volume of short stories delves further into the lives of the residents of the fictional'Five Towns'that Bennett explores in novels like Anna of the Five Towns and Clayhanger.

What happens when a man who has everything falls desperately in love with a lowly shopgirl? That's the conundrum at the center of Arnold Bennett's novel Hugo. The eponymous protagonist is a titan of industry who is used to living a life of luxury and getting everything he wants -- until Camilla rebuffs his advances. Throw in some creepy elements of Gothic horror, and it's an all-around engaging read.

Part of his multi-generational epic, the Clayhanger Family series, Arnold Bennett's novel The Roll-Call focuses on one of the youngest members of the family, George Cannon. Despite his forebears'hard work, George is spoiled and entitled, and his increasingly demanding manner puts a strain on the family as it struggles to make it through the war.

Audrey's youth has been a privileged one, but the thing she wants more than anything else -- freedom -- has remained out of her reach. When her father succumbs to an accident, she decides to seize the day and make the most of her sudden shift in circumstances. But will her wonderment with the wider world cloud her judgment?

Author Arnold Bennett spent his early life in the Potteries district of England, an area known for its cluster of ceramics manufacturing facilities. In this charming volume of short stories, Bennett offers readers a glimpse into the lives, loves, and misadventures of the residents of the fictionalized version of the region that he christened the'Five Towns.'

The third book in his sweeping Clayhanger Family series, These Twain recounts the courtship and marriage of Hilda Lessways and Edwin Clayhanger. It's a nuanced, complex depiction of the ups and downs of long-term intimate relationships, focusing on the ways that marriage can both help and hurt people, often at the same time.

Set against the backdrop of World War I, this play is a rollicking send-up of Britain's class system and its growing absurdity in the heady period of democratization that began to transpire in the early twentieth century. When mild-mannered protagonist Culver finds out that he is entitled to a formal honor (i.e., a title), he begins to reconsider the age-old hierarchy and all that it entails.