The Card by Arnold Bennett

Arnold Bennett

The Card

A Story of Adventure in The Five Towns.

The Card is Arnold Bennett's most popular novel and its hero, Denry Machin, has become one of fiction's most memorable characters.

Denry's story has universal appeal. It tells of the unlikely rise of its hero from a poor working class single parent family to become the admired and loved Mayor of Bursley. Denry's cheeky chappy exploits are often questionable but his motvies are always well intentioned.

Whether it is looking to celebrities for business endorsements, escaping disastrous romntic entanglements or saving the local football team, Denry inhabits a world that remains instantly recognisable today. Yet beneath all Bennett's sophisticated slapstick comedy there runs a deep vein of social commentary.

The Centenary edition reproduces the original text. It is also lavishly illustrated with scenes from the famous 1952 film starring Alec Guinness, Glynis Johns and Petula Clark.

Edited and with an introduction by John Shapcott, University of Keele

Published by Churnet Valley Books 2011.