![Book Cover of The Card](/image/book/the-card.webp)
The Card
'The Card ' Summary
The novel begins when "Edward Henry Machin first saw the smoke on May 27, 1867"—the very day of Bennett's own birth. At age 12, Denry begins his career by altering his marks in a test sufficiently to earn him a scholarship to grammar school. At 16, he leaves school to work for Mr Duncalf, the town clerk and a solicitor. Duncalf is responsible for organising an exclusive ball; Denry "invites" himself, then also a few others in exchange for things he will need, such as lessons from dance instructor Ruth Earp. On a bet, he audaciously asks the energetic, beautiful Countess of Chell to dance. Everyone, including Machin, is in awe of the Countess (apparently based on the real-life Duchess of Sutherland) and he thus earns himself the reputation of a "card" (a "character", someone able to set tongues wagging) – a reputation he is determined to cement.
Later, when Duncalf treats a disgruntled client brusquely, Denry leaves his employ after persuading the client to hire him as a rent collector. When some of the tenants fall behind, he begins loaning them money (at a highly profitable interest rate). Ruth herself is several months in arrears and tries to sneak away in the middle of the night. Denry catches her by accident, but rather than being angry, he admires her audacity and starts courting her.
While on holiday at the seaside resort town of Llandudno with Ruth and her friend Nellie Cotterill, he witnesses a shipwreck and the rescue of the sailors. Noting the interest generated, he buys a lifeboat, hires some of the stranded mariners as rowers, and conducts tours of the picturesque wreck. However, Ruth's spendthrift nature becomes alarmingly apparent during the trip and they break up.
By the end of the summer, Denry has made a substantial profit from the sightseers, which he uses to finance his boldest venture. He starts up the Five Towns Universal Thrift Club. Members deposit money little by little; once they have accumulated half the sum they need to purchase whatever it is they want, the club allows them to buy on credit, but only from stores associated with the club. Denry makes money by getting a discount from the vendors in return for access to his large customer base. When his capital starts to run out, he arranges an "accident" for the Countess's coach. He drives conveniently by and gives her a lift to an urgent appointment. On the way there, he talks her into becoming the club's sponsor, ensuring easy financing. This proves to be the making of Denry's fortune.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1911Author
![Arnold Bennett image](/thumbs/image/author/arnold-bennett.webp)
Arnold Bennett
England
Bennett is best known for his novels and short stories, many of which are set in a fictionalised version of the Potteries, which he called The Five Towns. He strongly believed that literature should b...
More on Arnold BennettDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
![Aurora Floyd Volume 2 Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/aurora-floyd-volume-2.webp)
Aurora Floyd Volume 2 by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
The story follows the protagonist, Aurora Floyd, as she navigates the complexities of Victorian society and confronts the consequences of her past act...
![The Giant's Robe Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-giants-robe.webp)
The Giant's Robe by Thomas Anstey Guthrie
Imagine finding a robe that grants you the power to become invisible. What would you do with it? In F. Anstey's classic Victorian fantasy novel, The...
![The Sorcery Club Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-sorcery-club.webp)
The Sorcery Club by Elliott O’Donnell
Leon Hamar and his friends were out-of-work and starving in San Francisco after the firm they worked for went out of business. Leon acquired a strange...
![Warlord of Mars Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/warlord-of-mars.webp)
Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Warlord of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the third of his Barsoom series. Burroughs began writing it in...
![Keep Your Own Secret Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/keep-your-own-secret.webp)
Keep Your Own Secret by Pedro Calderón de la Barca
The play centers around the lives of two brothers, Octavio and Flavio, who both fall in love with the same woman, Rosaura. The story delves into theme...
![The Keeper of the Bees Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-keeper-of-the-bees.webp)
The Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton-Porter
The story follows a wounded soldier named James Lewis MacFarlane who finds solace in the peaceful world of beekeeping. He meets a young boy named Jami...
![Dreams Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/dreams.webp)
Dreams by Olive Schreiner
In her haunting and visionary collection of short stories, Dreams, Olive Schreiner explores the inner lives of women in Victorian-era South Africa, gr...
![Two on a Tower Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/two-on-a-tower.webp)
Two on a Tower by Thomas Hardy
Two on a Tower: A Romance (1882) is a novel by English author Thomas Hardy, classified by him as a romance and fantasy it is one of his minor works. T...
![Katharine Lauderdale Volume 1 Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/katharine-lauderdale-volume-1.webp)
Katharine Lauderdale Volume 1 by Francis Marion Crawford
Katharine Lauderdale, the spirited and independent daughter of a wealthy merchant, yearns to break free from the constraints of her societal expectati...
![Chance Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/chance.webp)
Chance by Joseph Conrad
Chance is a novel by Joseph Conrad, following serial publication the previous year. Although the novel was not one upon which Conrad's later critical...
Reviews for The Card
No reviews posted or approved, yet...