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Anna of the Five Towns (1902) depicts the severe economic and moral pressures of life in the Staffordshire Potteries in the late nineteenth century. Against the vitality and harshness of the Five Towns, Bennett's narrative is a compelling delineation of his heroine's attempts to gain freedom and independence from her father and the repressive regime of Methodism. This is the first of Bennett's novels to mark out the province of the Five Towns where much of his later fiction is set.
The crushing of Anna TellwrightReviewed by Bomojaz, 2005-02-23
When Anna turns 18, she inherits a large sum of money (and property) from her dead mother. Her miserly and cruel father discourages her from spending a penny of it and even forces her to extract high rents from her tenants. As if this weren't enough trouble, she falls in love with Harry Mynors who is only interested in her money. When she realizes this, she has become so used to this kind of treatment that she decides to marry him anyway. Naturalistic and depressing, Bennett portrays his main characters well. Poor Anna--you really feel for her by the end of the book.
The Unsuppressing of AnnaReviewed by agilicairn, 2000-10-09
Story of young woman who is given a measure of financial independence by her oppressive father, and how she gradually reaches for some small measure of autonomy. The "Five Towns" are the author's fictionalized version of the corresponding cities of the region in England where the famous potteries & glaziers are.
Frequently, reviewers note the Methodism in this novel -- it does give a look at the everyday lives of Methodism when it was much more controversial (!) than it is today, if it ever was particularly revolutionary in America. I was more struck by the personal circumstances of Anna's plight than her religious questionings, although the latter are definitely imposed on her character by the author.
An interesting attempt by a male author to describe a woman suppressed by her domineering father, by strict moral and religious conventions, and by her own personality.
Anna of the Five Towns--Bennett's First "Serious" NovelReviewed by agilicairn, 2000-04-26
Described by the prolific author as "my serious novel," _Anna_ is the story of a young woman's struggles to free herself from the oppression of her domineering father. The title character is given a chance to live undreamed-of experiences when she inherits a fortune in properties and business ventures on her 21st birthday. Simultaneously, she finds herself the declared object of affection of one of the town's most desirable men. As her story unfolds, she is attracted to another man, more vulnerable, and must try to resolve many different demands on her sense of duty and her emotions.
Set in the early 1900's, Bennett succeeds in evoking a strong sense of place with his fictionalized Five Towns of the Staffordshire Potteries. Critics have praised his full description of Methodism and Methodist church life of the time, as well. Bennett conveys sympathy for his protagonist and portrays the limitations placed on her for her gender without falling into condescension, concluding, "She had sucked in with her mother's milk the profound truth that a woman's life is always a renunciation, greater or less."
Anna's attempts to expand herself spiritually and personally, and to gain a sense of personal efficacy, make for an interesting read. However, Bennett violates flagrantly the old writer's adage, "Show not tell," as when we are told repeatedly Anna's father is a miser and a tyrant long before we see him saying or doing anything miserly or tyrannical. Further, anyone looking for an intensely psychological novel with thoughts portrayed as stream of consciousness should be aware that Bennett's style descends from a Realist tradition.
