Buried Alive: A Tale of These Days

"Buried Alive: A Tale of These Days" by Arnold Bennett is a novel written during the late 19th century. The story centers around the life of Priam Farll, a reclusive and shy painter who has achieved immense fame and wealth but struggles with his personal life and social interactions. The opening of the novel introduces the reader to Priam Farll, who is described as living in a largely empty, forlorn house in South Kensington while wearing a striking puce dressing-gown. Despite his success as an artist, revealed through the acclaim of his infamous portrait of a policeman, Farll experiences profound shyness and superficiality in human connections. In his solitude, he reflects on his life and relationships, particularly his reliance on his valet, Henry Leek. The narrative establishes a paradox in Farll's character: while he is a brilliant artist revered by the public, he is personally lost and helpless in the mundane realities of life, setting the stage for a comedic and poignant exploration of identity and self-worth. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Enoch Arnold Bennett was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays, and a daily journal totalling more than a million words. He wrote articles and stories for more than 100 newspapers and periodicals, worked in and briefly ran the Ministry of Information during the First World War, and wrote for the cinema in the 1920s. Sales of his books were substantial, and he was the most financially successful British author of his day.