George Sturt (1863-1927), who also wrote under the pseudonym George Bourne, was a highly prominent writer on the traditions of rural life and the condition of the English labouring classes. Originally published in 1927, shortly after Sturt's death, this volume provides a memoir of his early experiences in and around Farnham, Surrey. It is written in a characteristically informal, personal style, with numerous beautifully rendered observations, and is also notable for containing an introduction by Arnold Bennett. This is a highly readable book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in Sturt's life and autobiographical writing in general.

Introduction by Anita Miller. This novel about the divergent lives of two sisters which spans the Victorian and Edwardian periods is a 20th-century classic. Recently included in the list of the greatest 20th-century novels.

Mental Efficiency and Other Hints to Men and Women is the roadmap to developing strength within and beginning to make positive changes in your life. Whether your goal is a promotion at work, or starting a successful business, or leading a happy home life, Mental Efficiency and Other Hints to Men and Women can show you how to achieve that goal. In Mental Efficiency and Other Hints to Men and Women you will learn secrets that will help you sharpen your mental efficiency and succeed beyond your wildest dreams. You will learn: How to develop the will-power you need to achieve your goals, How to get organized and arrange your schedule so that you make the most of everyday, How to express your individuality and still make a good impression on others, How to cultivate "the greatest of human qualities," How to break free from the past once and for all and begin achieving your goals, What it is the duty of all men and women to do, and why those who don't are doomed to live selfish, unsatisfying lives, The importance of marriage and how this close relationship can help men and women sharpen their mental efficiency, And much more.

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) was a British writer. He went to work for his father but was unhappy working for his father and earning very little money. The theme of parental miserliness occurs in his works. At 21 he went to London to clerk for a solicitor. He then began working for a magazine called Women. When he noticed the poor material being submitted he began writing a serial for the periodical. Bennett gives an in depth look at all one needs to survive relationships with peers and superiors. Bennett shows his reader how to avoid many of the worries associated with interpersonal relationships. Some of the topics covered are Man in his environment, Success and Failure, The brain as a gentleman at large, and Habit forming by concentration.

First published in 1908, The Old Wives' Tale affirms the integrity of ordinary lives as it tells the story of the Baines sisters--shy, retiring Constance and defiant, romantic Sophia--over the course of nearly half a century. Bennett traces the sisters' lives from childhood in their father's drapery shop in provincial Bursley, England, during the mid-Victorian era, through their married lives, to the modern industrial age, when they are reunited as old women. The setting moves from the Five Towns of Staffordshire to exotic and cosmopolitan Paris, while the action moves from the subdued domestic routine of the Baines household to the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.