Anna of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennett

ANNA OF THE FIVE TOWNS follows the life of Anna Tellwright, the daughter of a wealthy but miserly and cruel father, living in the Potteries area of Staffordshire, England. Anna seeks to escape the boredom and constraints of her life; she falls in love with Willie Price, the son of a bankrupt suicide, but is courted by the town's most eligible bachelor, Henry Mynors.

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) was an English journalist, novelist, and writer.  After working as a rent collector and solicitor's clerk, Bennett won a writing contest which convinced him to become a journalist.  He later turned to the writing of novels, including his most famous CLAYHANGER and ANNA OF THE FIVE TOWNS.