Mammon and Co by E.F. Benson (1902)

Name: Mammon and Co
Author: E.F. Benson

In *Mammon and Co.*, Kit, Marchioness of Conybeare, and her husband Jack live in fashionable, chronically indebted London society, entertaining princes on borrowed credit while cheerfully scheming for money. At a City dinner they cultivate Mr. Frank Alington, a devout, mild-mannered financier who has bought a group of West Australian gold claims — the Carmel mines — and wants Jack's title on his prospectus. Alington offers Jack the chairmanship and a director's salary, along with cheap allotted shares, in exchange for nothing but his name and attendance at meetings; he also recruits Kit's friend Lord Abbotsworthy (Tom), brother of Lady Haslemere, onto the board. Kit throws herself into promoting Alington socially, dragging him to the Hungarian Embassy ball and folding him into her circle so the mining scheme will prosper. At a baccarat party at Lady Haslemere's house, Kit and Alice both believe they see Alington cheat; Kit persuades Jack and Alice to keep it quiet rather than risk a scandal that would wreck the mining venture, planning instead to watch him secretly. During a later game at Kit's own house, flustered and losing, Kit herself accidentally pushes a counter over the line after declaring a natural, effectively cheating, and hesitates just long enough that she cannot undo it. Days later, cornered by Alington over lunch, Kit tries to preempt him by accusing him of cheating first. He calmly demonstrates that his earlier "cheat" was innocent, produces Tom Abbotsworthy as a witness to prove it, and forces Kit to apologize — then reveals he also knows about her own lapse with the counter, which he says he will keep quiet. Kit is left cowed, having lost the moral upper hand she thought she held over him. Alongside the main plot, Kit works to marry off Jack's amiable, unintellectual younger brother Toby to Lily Murchison, a wealthy, sensible young American heiress whose mother, the garrulous, malaprop-prone Mrs. Murchison, is desperate to break into the "smart set." Kit engineers dinners and introductions until Toby and Lily grow close on a punting excursion, and their engagement is announced. The narrative also details Alington's private character — a cultured, religious music-lover and collector who prays nightly — and the wider social world of dinners, balls, and gossip surrounding the Conybeares as the mining scheme moves toward public flotation. The provided text breaks off with Toby at his mother's seaside house near Stanborough-on-Sea, before further developments in the mining venture or the engagement are shown.

By E.F. Benson · First published 1902 · Genre: Satire, Social Commentary, Humor · 25 chapters · 120,801 words

First lines

"Egotism is certainly the first," said Lady Conybeare with admirable firmness; "and your inclination towards your neighbour is the second."

Now, this was the sort of thing which Alice Haslemere liked; and she stopped abruptly in the middle of her rather languishing conversation with nobody in particular to ask for explanations. It sounded promising.

What this Textopian page supports

Mammon and Co is listed on Textopian as a novel by E.F. Benson, dated 1902 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Novel
Author: E.F. Benson
Date: 1902 CE
Language: English
Genres: Satire, Social Commentary, Humor, Victorian, Fiction
Length: 120,801 words
Structure: 25 chapters, 2,118 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for Mammon and Co by E.F. Benson
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
Readability and classroom-planning context
Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

Discussion starters

What should a reader notice first when entering Mammon and Co?
How does this novel by E.F. Benson fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
Where does Satire first become important in the reading?

Similar titles

Genres

Satire — The book is known for its satirical take on the traditional tale of the business tycoon, mocking upper-class society and the world of business.
Social Commentary — The author uses characters to critique and highlight the obsession with wealth accumulation and excessive materialism prevalent in society.
Humor — The author employs humor throughout the book as a part of his satirical account of social and financial dynamics.
Victorian — The narrative is set in the Victorian era and reflects the social norms, culture and societal structures of that time.