Some Observations on the Art of Narrative

by Phyllis Bentley

Excerpt from Some Observations on the Art of Narrative

I find I can explain my View of the nature of narrative in fiction, its varieties and the place it occupies between the reader and the imaginary world of the novel most easily ifi translate a psychological fact into a physical metaphor, and say that the reader is divided from the imaginary world of the novel by a high wall over which he cannot see. On the top of the wall is perched the novelist. He looks down into the world of his imagination and then turns to the reader and tells him what is going on there. The novelist does not, like the dramatist, pick up bits of his world and set them down on the near side of the wall for actors to animate and his audience to see; the novelist narrates; he tells what he sees.

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62 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

PHYLLIS ELEANOR BENTLEY, the Yorkshire author, was born in November 1894. Her father was a junior partner in a manufacturing concern located at Dunkirk Mills, Halifax. She was educated at Halifax High School for Girls and Cheltenham Ladies College. A munitions worker in London during the First World War, she returned to Halifax where she taught English and Latin at Heath Grammar School.From an early age her ambition was to be a novelist. After several rejections from publishers, in 1928 she started her long association with the Gollancz publishing house, who agreed to publish her novel ‘The Partnership’. Her masterpiece, ‘Inheritance’ was published in 1932. Telling the story of the Oldroyd family, set against the background of the development of the textile industry, the book received widespread critical acclaim. Two further novels continued the saga of the Oldroyd family, ‘The Rise of Henry Morcar’ and ‘A Man of His Time’. In 1967 Granada Television began the serialisation of the trilogy. The ten-part series featured John Thaw and James Bolam in leading roles.

Phyllis Bentley’s main works were: Environment (1922); Cat in the Manger (1923); The Spinner of the Years ( March 1928); The Partnership (1928); Carr (1929); Trio (August 29 1930); Inheritance (1932); A Modern Tragedy (1934); The Whole of the Story (1935); Freedom Farewell (1936); The Rise of Henry Morcar (1946); Life Story (1948); Quorum; Panarama (1952); The House of Moreys (1953); Noble in Reason (1955); Crescendo (1958); Kith and Kin; O Dreams O Destinations (autobiography, 1962); Tales of the West Riding (1965); A Man Of His Time (1966); Gold Pieces (children's novel, 1968). Many of these novels deal with West Yorkshire and its history.

In recognition of her talent, she received several awards. In 1949 she was awarded a honorary Doctor of Literature ( DLitt) from Leeds University. In 1958 she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 1970 was awarded an OBE.

She died in late June 1977 at Ing Royde Home.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has got to be the best book on the act of storytelling I have run across in the last few months researching. Simply well-written. Very conscise to the point and clear. Great metaphors and similes, and human.