This is the first part of Bentley's famous Inheritance trilogy. Filmed
by Granada in 1967, the Inheritance trilogy is Phyllis Bentley's most
widely acclaimed work. Set against the backdrop of the textile industry
in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the trilogy chronicles the lives of
several families over 153 trouble-torn years, from the Luddite riots of
1812 to the death of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965. Vividly depicted,
and moving to the last, this trilogy is an example of regional fiction
at its finest. Speaking of the reason for the work, Bentley wrote that
it is a story of 'decency and integrity, courage and compassion...
passed down the generations; we are always the heirs of the past and
begetters of the future ages. It will be seen that this thought is the
meaning of the title Inheritance. It is not material wealth which is
meant, but a spiritual heritage.'
Phyllis Bentley, 1894 - 1977. Bentley published her first work in 1918,
a collection of short stories entitled The World's Bane, after which
she published several poor-selling novels. The publication in March 1932
of her best-known work, Inheritance, set against the background of the
development of the textile industry in the West Riding, received
widespread critical acclaim and ran through twenty-three impressions by
1946, making her the first successful English regional novelist since
Thomas Hardy and his Wessex. In 1949 she was awarded an honorary DLitt
from Leeds University; in 1958 she became a Fellow of the Royal Society
of Literature; and in 1970 was awarded an OBE.
