1902至1913年，本涅特僑居巴黎，開始發(fā)表一系列以家鄉(xiāng)盛產(chǎn)陶瓷制品的五座工業(yè)城鎮(zhèn)里中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的日常生活為題材的小說，這使他在20世紀(jì)初期英國(guó)現(xiàn)實(shí)主義文學(xué)中與享有盛譽(yù)的高爾斯華綏、威爾斯等人齊名�！拔彐�(zhèn)”小說的第一部是《五鎮(zhèn)的安娜》(1902)，表現(xiàn)富有同情心和責(zé)任感的姑娘安娜和她冷酷貪婪的父親兩種對(duì)立的道德觀，對(duì)唯利是圖的工商業(yè)者有一定的揭露和嘲諷。

小說《老婦人的故事》（1908）是本涅特的代表作，它描寫伯斯里鎮(zhèn)布店老板貝恩斯的兩個(gè)女兒從朝氣蓬勃的姑娘變成平庸的老嫗，反映了19世紀(jì)后半葉英國(guó)工業(yè)城鎮(zhèn)里中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的生活。姐姐康斯坦絲嫁給布店的伙計(jì)，守著父親留下的小家業(yè)平淡地過了一生。妹妹索菲亞不愿在沉悶的小鎮(zhèn)中生活，和一個(gè)推銷員私奔到巴黎，遭到遺棄，以收取房租維持生活，后來老死在家鄉(xiāng)。小說的主題是青春和美麗不可避免地要變成衰老和丑陋。兩姐妹生活中的悲劇正是平庸空虛的小市民社會(huì)環(huán)境所造成的。有的評(píng)論家認(rèn)為這部作品反映了英國(guó)中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的力量和弱點(diǎn)。

本涅特的《克萊漢格》三部曲，包括《克萊漢格》(1910)、《希爾達(dá)·萊斯韋斯》（1911）、《老兩口》(1915)，描寫“五鎮(zhèn)”印刷廠老板埃德溫·克萊漢格的一生。埃德溫青年時(shí)期愛好建筑學(xué)，但迫于父命，放棄個(gè)人愛好,接替父親經(jīng)營(yíng)印刷廠。后來事業(yè)有了成就,又受到妻子希爾達(dá)·萊斯韋斯的干涉和控制。埃德溫于苦惱中悟出一條道理：“人間的不平是既成事實(shí)”，只好逆來順受，以求安寧。《老兩口》寫埃德溫夫婦到了老年才相互諒解。這組三部曲不及《老婦人的故事》，但作者對(duì)埃德溫的同情使他成為小說里最吸引人的人物。

本涅特還塑造了一些資產(chǎn)階級(jí)典型人物，給人留下鮮明的印象。小說《怪人》(1911) 及其續(xù)篇《攝政者》(1913)寫一個(gè)毫無道德觀念的“怪人”，他在學(xué)生時(shí)代就善于花言巧語、投機(jī)鉆營(yíng)。一生不擇手段，厚顏無恥，逐漸飛黃騰達(dá)。小說《賴斯曼階梯》(1923)是他的重要作品中唯一不以五鎮(zhèn)為背景的小說。寫了一個(gè)極端吝嗇的書店老板。作者筆下的這些人物是可惡或可笑的，在他們身上可以看出作者的嘲諷，基至也有欣賞和同情。

本涅特還以“五鎮(zhèn)”的生活為題材寫了一些短篇小說,收在《五鎮(zhèn)的故事》(1905)、《五鎮(zhèn)的慘淡的微笑》(1907)、《五鎮(zhèn)的斗牛士》(1912)等集子中。他寫過不少劇本，但成就不大，其中以《里程碑》(1912)和《偉大的冒險(xiǎn)》(1913，根據(jù)作者自己的小說《活埋》改編)較為出色。

本涅特受左拉和巴爾扎克的影響較深，善于描寫平凡的生活瑣事，在平淡無奇中揭示生活中的詩意。他認(rèn)為作家不應(yīng)成為生活的評(píng)論者或辯護(hù)者，而應(yīng)觀察和記錄人生,因此他的人物描寫帶有自然主義傾向。他對(duì)“五鎮(zhèn)”生活的描寫只限于他所熟悉的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)，對(duì)資產(chǎn)階級(jí)的剝削本質(zhì)揭露得不夠。

Novelist, playwright, essayist, critic and journalist. Born in Hanley, Staffordshire, the eldest child of a pawnbroker who had bettered himself and become a solicitor. The family moved house several times and lived in Burslem and Middleport. As a result, Arnold went to several schools including the Middle School, Newcastle-under-Lyme. His father wanted him to follow his example and qualify as a solicitor but Arnold failed a crucial university entrance examination. He therefore became a solicitor’s clerk, at first in his father’s office and, from 1889, in London.

Arnold Bennett had shown early promise as a writer and had won a writing competition in a local newspaper as a boy. In London he began to see his writing published in popular magazines and he joined the staff of Woman magazine in 1893, later becoming its editor. His first novel to be published, A man from the north, appeared in 1898 and its success allowed him to give up other work to concentrate on writing. He lived in Bedfordshire and for eight years, from 1903, in Paris. He married Marguerite Soulié, a French actress, in 1907 and they were to stay together for fourteen years before separating. He never returned to live in Staffordshire, even though he continued to draw inspiration from the area in his work. He died on 27 March 1931 from typhoid shortly after a visit to France. Following his cremation, his ashes were buried in the cemetery at Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.

A prolific, yet uneven, author, the reputation of Arnold Bennett rests on his thirty novels, and especially those set in the Staffordshire scenery of his childhood, the Potteries. He learned his craft by studying French novels that included intense description and he successfully applied this style in bringing to life the ordinary working lives of many of his characters. His best work can be found in the novels Anna of the Five Towns (1902), The Old Wives’ Tale (1908), Clayhanger (1910) and Riceyman Steps (1923), all except the last being set in the Potteries. In his earlier career, Arnold Bennett was also a respected playwright, his interest in the theatre following on from his work as a critic. His most successful play was Milestones, written with Edward Knoblock.