Card, The (Librovox)

The `Card¿ in question is Edward Henry Machin - His mother called him `Denry¿. This light-hearted story is of his rise from humble beginnings as the son of a washerwoman and sempstress in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, in the pottery towns (which Arnold Bennett christened `The Five Towns¿) of the English Midlands; how, by his own wits, enterprise and `nerve¿ he rose to wealth, married bliss and public recognition as the youngest-ever mayor of his home town.

¿¿And yet,¿ demanded Councillor Barlow, `what¿s he done? What great cause is he identified with?¿
`He¿s identified,¿ said the speaker, `with the great cause of cheering us all up¿.¿ (summary by Andy Minter)