Set in the fictional Five Towns of Staffordshire, England, Clayhanger is the first installment of Arnold Bennett's Clayhanger Family trilogy (Clayhanger, Hilda Lessways, and These Twain). First published in 1910, this novel charts the journey of Edwin Clayhanger from a young man, burdened by the weight of familial duties, with architectural aspirations to the reluctant head of his father's printing and stationery business. Through the evolving stages of Edwin's life-his vocation, love, search for freedom, and establishment in life-Bennett crafts a compelling narrative of personal ambition, romantic entanglements, and the quest for individual autonomy against the backdrop of societal expectations. A century after its first publication, Clayhanger continues to be a pertinent exploration of the friction between one's own desires and the weight of familial expectations, resonating with modern readers as they navigate the intricate dynamics of self-identity and social roles.
