Anna of the Five Towns

Product Information

Anna lives in one of the "Five Towns" near Liverpool renowned for their pottery making and coal mining, and Bennett does not spare the cityscapes from caustic descriptions. Her father is a miser and a tyrant, having outlived both his daughters' mothers and now making his money through real estate and investments. If dinner is not served precisely, an explosion and a night of shunning ensues. How nice you can come with us to the Isle of Man now you are monied," cried Mrs Sutton. "I do also declare Mr Mynors is enamoured of you." Once Anna would have dreaded such a disclosure, but now she merely smiled as if to say, "Yes, I the shy, dreary one am beloved by the man desired of all." William è figlio di Titus Price, metodista anche lui, sovrintendete del pomeriggio della scuola domenicale. Quest’ultimo è un affittuario (sfortunato) di Anna continuamente indietro con l’affitto da pagare, poiché la sua azienda di ceramiche non va molto bene e rischia la bancarotta da un giorno all’altro. Pur di salvare la sua azienda, Titus, da uomo irresponsabile che è, arriva a sottrarre una somma di denaro dai conti della scuola, divenendo un ladro; nonostante ciò la sua azienda fallisce e lui, divorato dal rimorso e ormai dedito alla bottiglia, decide di mettere fine alla sua esistenza. La ambientación. Bursley, una de las cinco poblaciones que forman las Cinco Villas, famosas por la porcelana y la industria alfarera en torno a la que gira la vida de la zona. Describe maravillosamente la zona, las alfarerías de la ciudad, la sociedad de la época, la vida diaria, la familia, el trabajo, la educación de los niños o la religión de sus habitantes. Y también el comportamiento de las personas que era diferente según su posición social.

An ageing and charitable woman's "bodily frame long ago proved inadequate to the ceaseless demands of a spirit of indefatigably altruistic, and her continuance in activity was notable illustration of the dominion of mind over matter." Anna is an ordinary girl, who leads a simple existence with her tyrannical father and her younger half sister. She performs her duties without complaint, without any fuss or expectations. She is humble and austere and shy and not sure of what religion or love means, even though society imposes them on her.

Broadcasts

Come ho detto l’autore inglese ci descrive il processo produttivo delle ceramiche, mostrandoci la pratica moderna e proficua (quella di Mynors) e quella antiquata e svantaggiosa (quella di Titus Price). Questo contrasto, tra i due diversi sistemi produttivi, mette in risalto l'opposto status economico ed esistenziale dell’altro uomo presente nella vita di Anna: William Price. Anna consiente todas sus imposiciones pero.... Empieza a tener relaciones sociales y empieza a tomar decisiones. Anna was much troubled by this, but she knew her duty was to be obedient to her father even though it was to precipitate the catastrophe that nobody would give a toss about. Grieved and confused, Anna fell prostrate. Like Christ she had consorted with sinners. Yet had it been her obedience to her father's will that had precipitated Mr Price's downfall?

And that's exactly what makes this a thrilling novel. Nothing exceptional goes on, just what life for a young woman in an industrial village at the end of the XIX century might have been like. Unadorned and real.Quest’anno, nel mese di maggio, ricorreva il 150 anniversario della nascita dello scrittore inglese; per celebrare quest’avvenimento in Inghilterra, si sono svolte commemorazioni, celebrazioni e anche una trasposizione teatrale di questo romanzo.