Bennett , Enoch Arnold , 1867-1931 , author and journalist

Born in North Staffordshire, 1867; educated at Middle School, Newcastle under Lyme; joined his father's office in order to finish preparing for matriculation at the University of London and to study for a law degree which he was never to complete, 1885; left Staffordshire to become clerk at a firm of London solicitors, 1888-1893; also worked as a freelance journalist and wrote several novels and short stories, becoming assistant editor of the weekly journal Woman, 1893; editor, 1896; lived in Paris, 1902-1912; wrote plays, romances, articles and novels; married Marie Marguerite Soulié, a Frenchwoman, 1907; returned to England, 1912; during World War One, became a public servant, serving on the War Memorials and Wounded Allies Relief Committee and as head of propaganda in France, 1914-1918; whilst in France, wrote on conditions at the front; after the war, published several novels and contributed articles to the Evening Standard newspaper; separated from his wife, 1921; in 1922 began to live with Dorothy Cheston, who was regarded as his second wife and changed her name to Bennett; had a daughter, Virginia Mary, 1926; after a trip to France, returned to London ill with typhoid fever and died, 1931. Publications include: novels, most famously Anna of the five towns (1902), The Old Wives' Tale (1908) and Clayhanger (1911), all set in the Potteries; and many stage plays.