Chapter I: Front Matter

LIST OF WORKS TO DATE
BY ARNOLD BENNETT

NOVELS

Lilian
Mr. Prohack
The Roll-Call
The Pretty Lady
The Lion's Share
These Twain
Clayhanger
Hilda Lessways
The Old Wives' Tale
Denry the Audacious
The Old Adam
The Matador of the Five Towns
Helen with the High Hand
The Gates of Wrath
The Book of Carlotta
Buried Alive
A Great Man
Leonora
Whom God Hath Joined
A Man from the North
Anna of the Five Towns
The Glimpse
The City of Pleasure
The Grand Babylon Hotel
Hugo

POCKET PHILOSOPHIES

Self and Self-Management
Married Life
Friendship and Happiness
The Human Machine
How to Live on 24 Hours a Day
Literary Taste
Mental Efficiency
The Author's Craft
How to Make the Best of Life

PLAYS

The Love Match
Body and Soul
Sacred and Profane Love
Judith
The Title
The Great Adventure
Cupid and Commonsense
What the Public Wants
Polite Farces
The Honeymoon

_In Collaboration with_ Edward Knoblock
Milestones

MISCELLANEOUS

Our Women
Books and Persons
Paris Nights
The Truth About an Author
Liberty!
Over There: War Scenes
Things That Have Interested Me
Things That Have Interested Me (second series)

RICEYMAN STEPS

A NOVEL

BY

ARNOLD BENNETT

CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD
London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne

First published 1923

_Printed in Great Britain_

CONTENTS

_PART I_
PAGE

1. RICEYMAN STEPS 1
2. THE CUSTOMER 4
3. THE BOOKSELLER AT HOME 9
4. ELSIE 14
5. THE GIFT 21
6. MRS. ARB'S CASE 26
7. UNDER AN UMBRELLA 30
8. THE CARVING-KNIFE 33
9. SUNDAY MORNING 39
10. RICEYMAN SQUARE 43
11. ELSIE'S HOME 48
12. THE BENEFACTRESS 54
13. THE PASSION 58
14. A MAN'S PRIVATE LIFE 67

_PART II_

1. THE DAY BEFORE 77
2. ELSIE'S RETREAT 86
3. WAXWORKS 90
4. VACUUM 99
5. THE PRIESTESS 103
6. THE NEXT DAY 114

_PART III_

1. EARLY MORNING 123
2. AFTER BREAKFAST 127
3. INTERNATIONAL 135
4. AFTERNOON 140
5. TEA 146
6. EVENING 155

_PART IV_

1. AT THE WINDOW 169
2. ELSIE'S MOTIVE 176
3. CHARITY 182
4. NO VERDICT 191
5. MIDNIGHT 197
6. HENRY'S PLOT 201
7. THE NIGHT-CALL 205
8. ON THE LANDING 213
9. VIOLET'S VICTORY 221
10. DEPARTURE 227

_PART V_

1. THE PROMISE 235
2. THE REFUSAL 240
3. THE MESSAGE OF VIOLET 244
4. OUT OF THE RAIN 253
5. THE TWO PATIENTS 260
6. THE SECOND REFUSAL 264
7. MALARIA 270
8. A CLIMAX 274
9. THE KISS 290
10. THE SAFE 295
11. PRISON 300
12. ASLEEP 304
13. DISAPPEARANCE OF T. T.'S 308

RICEYMAN STEPS