Synopses & Reviews
Edward Henry Machin (Denry Machin for short) is an opportunist of the highest order. In every situation, he looks for advantage, but far from being denigrated he is admired—charm and seeming helpfulness win the day for the “Card.” From wangling invitations, to rent collection, to purchasing public office by buying a renowned player for the local football team, he is never far from the everyday affairs of the town. Adapted by Eric Ambler, The Card was filmed starring Sir Alec Guinness. It was also adapted for the London stage and BBC radio.
About the Author
Enoch Arnold Bennett, the son of a solicitor, was born in Hanley, which is in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. He was initially employed by his father, a solicitor, and at age twenty-one moved to London, initially to again work as a solicitor’s clerk. However, he soon turned to writing popular serial fiction and editing a women’s magazine. After publication of many articles and stories in serial form, his first novel A Man From the North was published in 1898. This novel was received with critical acclaim and Bennett became a full-time professional writer and moved to Paris where he became a man of cosmopolitan and discerning tastes. During the First World War, Arnold Bennett became director of propaganda for France at the Ministry of Information at the behest of Lord Beaverbrook, whose experiences during the First World War were to later inspire Bennett to write the novel Lord Raingo. At the end of the war, he was offered a knighthood, but refused it.