Four hitherto unpublished letters from Edward Garnett (1868–1936) to Arnold Bennett (1867–1931), dated 26 February and 6 March 1902, and 27 November and 29 December 1908, throw light on Garnett’s perspicuity as a publisher’s reader for Duckworth and on the earliest reactions to Anna of the Five Towns, the novel that put Bennett on the map as a writer of fiction. Garnett had caveats: the suicide of Willie Price should be cut and in places, the novel was “over prosaic”. However, it gave Garnett and his wife, Constance Garnett (1861–1946), translator of Turgenev—an author that also interested Bennett—“enormous pleasure” and was strongly recommended. Bennett resisted making the changes and Anna was published by Chatto & Windus, who offered a higher royalty. It had a laudatory reception. The letters—the first pages of which are included in the article as an illustration of each transcription—illuminate Garnett and Bennett, their attitudes, and other literature they encountered. In 1902 Bennett was the supplicant, hoping to persuade Duckworth to publish his work, but by 1908 the correspondence is between equals. Thereafter it was Bennett who was the established figure in the literary world.

爱德华·加内特（Edward Garnett，1868-1936）写给阿诺德·贝内特（Arnold Bennett，1867-1931）的四封迄今未发表的信件，日期为1902年2月26日至3月6日，以及1908年11月27日至12月29日，这些信件揭示了加内特作为达克沃斯出版商读者的洞察力。对《五镇的安娜》的最早反应，这部小说使贝内特成为小说家。加内特提出了警告：威利·普莱斯的自杀应该被删掉，而且小说的某些地方“过于平淡”。然而，这本书却给加内特和他的妻子康斯坦斯·加内特（Constance Garnett，1861-1946）——屠格涅夫的翻译者——贝内特也感兴趣的作家——带来了“巨大的乐趣”，并被强烈推荐。 Bennett 拒绝做出修改，Anna由 Chatto & Windus 出版，Chatto & Windus 提供了更高的版税。它受到了热烈的欢迎。这些信件——文章的第一页作为每封抄本的插图——阐明了加内特和贝内特、他们的态度以及他们遇到的其他文献。 1902 年，贝内特成为恳求者，希望说服达克沃斯出版他的作品，但到了 1908 年，双方的通信已经处于平等状态。此后，贝内特成为文坛的知名人物。