Arnold Bennett's... splendidly comic portrayal of Edward Henry Machin, known as Denry to his mother to save time, is set in Bursley, one of the author's Five Towns of Staffordshire. Starting in 1897, when Denry first saw the smoke of the pot banks, the tale chronicles his rise to fame and wealth including such events as improving his exam results to guarantee success, adjusting the guest list of the municipal ball to include himself and then daring to ask the Countess of Chell to dance! Denry is given a week's notice as a result of this last impertinence but soon turns it to his advantage, setting up in business as a Rent Collector and Estate Agent. Eventually Denry becomes Bursley's youngest Mayor having gained the reputation of the Five Towns greatest 'Card'.
Download and start listening now!
"Fun to read, light, humorous, and definitely belongs to the Victorian period. Gives quite a good idea of life in northern England at that time. Andy Minter is a wonderful storyteller (Librivox). In fact I chose the book because he reads it!" — Sarah (4 out of 5 stars)
"Fun to read, light, humorous, and definitely belongs to the Victorian period. Gives quite a good idea of life in northern England at that time. Andy Minter is a wonderful storyteller (Librivox). In fact I chose the book because he reads it!"
" This was a fun Victorian novel. Very different from almost all other books from that time period. Fast paced, effective dialogue, interesting plot. "
" It was okay... if you don't mind archaic use of language. I would not have finished this audiobook had it been read by Andy Minter. He is an excellent reader. "
" This is the first book I read of him..its fun read. "
" Very good old-school writing. Filmed as The Card, with Alec Guiness as Denry. Nice dialect too, especially if you hail from the Five Towns. "
" I love Andy Minter as a reader - and he brought this book to life for me. It's a funny character study. There's a public domain audiobook version available here from LibriVox. "
Arnold Bennett (1867–1931) was an English writer best known for his highly detailed novels of the “Five Towns,” the Potteries of Staffordshire, England. He wrote over thirty novels and many lesser works throughout his career.
Peter Joyce trained at Rose Bruford College and won the Radio Prize. There followed a catalog of repertory work throughout the United Kingdom including two years at the prestigious Victoria Theatre, Stoke on Trent. His credits include appearances with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the West End and he is currently the director of two companies: Assembled Stories, which records classic literature onto CD, and Past Present Science, for which he travels the world performing his one man shows about Galileo and Newton.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.