Bennett turned the six towns of Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton into five - Turnhill, Bursley, Handbridge, Knype, and Longshaw, with Bursley being the central focal point for his Five Town novels. 

He explained his reason for including tiny Tunstall at the expense of Fenton, by saying that Tunstall had more of a tangible identity than Fenton. He offered the following reason for omitting Fenton when declining an invitation from the Fenton Traders to speak at their annual dinner:

"The sound of the phrase 'Six Towns' is not so good as the sound of the phrase 'Five Towns'. 'I' in 'Five' is an open vowel. 'I' in 'Six' is a closed vowel, and is not nearly so striking. To my mind a broad sounding phrase for the district was very important. It is also to be remembered that Fenton had not then the same status as it has now. 

People ask me why, if I left out Fenton, should I put in Tunstall. The reason is that I did not like the sound of "Four" and that Tunstall, although then not a borough, had a more separate entity than Fenton. It also had a Chief Bailiff."