Tales of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennett: A collection of short stories depicting life in the Potteries district. Available for free download in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats.
Tales of the Five Towns Summary
Tales of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennett is a captivating collection of short stories that vividly portray life in the Potteries district of Staffordshire, England. Through keen observation and rich storytelling, Bennett delves into the lives, loves, and challenges of the inhabitants, offering a window into early 20th-century provincial England. Download this literary classic in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats.Tales of the Five Towns Excerpt
Delve into the opening of Arnold Bennett's Tales of the Five Towns, where the author masterfully sets the scene of the Potteries district, introducing readers to the rich tapestry of characters and stories that follow. Enjoy this engaging excerpt:
The Elixir of Youth
When the great city of Bursley had been these many years a mere village, and the site of Hanbridge was still a swamp, and knights in armour rode about the country-side, and monks sang in the abbeys of Hulton and Croxden, and the holy saints were working miracles in every part of the land, there lived at Oldcastle a young clerk named John, who had a reputation for sanctity and learning. He dwelt in the house of his father, a well-to-do wool-merchant, and spent his days in study and prayer. Now, one night, as he prayed in his narrow cell, he heard a voice saying: 'Rise, John, and follow me.'
He rose, and saw a faint light in his cell. He followed the light, which led him out of the house, and through the streets of Oldcastle, and up the hill to the ancient church of St. Chad. The door of the church opened at the approach of the light, and John entered. The light moved up the nave, and paused before the altar; and John fell on his knees, and waited. Then the light grew brighter, and he saw that it proceeded from a crystal vial held in the hand of a beautiful youth in white raiment. And the youth said: 'John, thou hast sought long for the Elixir of Youth. Behold it here! Take it, and drink.'
But John answered: 'I have sought long for the Elixir of Youth, and now that it is found, I fear to drink.'
The youth smiled, and said: 'Fear not, John. It is for thee and for all men. Drink, and thou shalt be young for ever.'
Then John took the vial, and drank; and immediately a sense of ineffable joy filled his being, and he felt within himself the vigour of eternal youth. And the youth in white raiment vanished, and the light with him; and John was left alone in the darkness of the church.
He groped his way to the door, and so down the hill, and through the streets to his father's house. But when he came to the house, he found it all changed. The door was not as it had been, and the windows were not as they had been, and the very stones of the walls were different. And he said to himself: 'What is this that has befallen? Is it witchcraft, or am I mad?'
Then he knocked at the door, and a strange servant opened to him, and asked him what he would have.
'I would see my father,' said John.
'Thy father?' said the servant. 'Who is thy father?'
'Master Thomas the wool-merchant,' said John.
Then the servant called aloud to his mistress, and there came a fair woman, whom John had never seen before. And she said: 'Who art thou that claimest Thomas the wool-merchant for thy father?'
And John answered: 'I am his son, John.'
Then the woman laughed, and said: 'Know, foolish youth, that Thomas the wool-merchant has been dead these three hundred years, and I am the wife of the present master of the house.'
Then John knew that he had drunk of the Elixir of Youth, and that while he remained young, all the world had grown old. And he turned away, and went through the streets of Oldcastle, seeking his old companions; but he found them not, for they were all dead and forgotten. And he wandered about the country, from village to village, and from town to town, seeking rest and finding none; for all men shunned him as a madman or a wizard. And so he lived for many years, always young, and always alone, till at last he came to the city of Lichfield.
And there, one day, as he sat by the roadside, weary and forlorn, a young knight passed by, and seeing him, stopped, and said: 'Who art thou, and whence comest thou?'
And John answered: 'I am a stranger in these parts, and I seek rest.' And he told the knight his story.
The knight was filled with wonder and pity, and said: 'Come with me, and I will give thee rest.'
