The Old Wives' Tale
of Arnold Bennett
Series: The Five Towns #5
Description
H.G. Wells described The Old Wives' Tale as "by far the finest long novel written in English and in the English fashion". He was, of course, speaking for his own generation, and a hundred years later the opinion may seem somewhat exaggerated. However, there is no doubt that The Old Wives' Tale is a superb novel of its kind, and it is still as readable and enjoyable as ever. First published in 1908, it tells the story of the Baines sisters--shy, retiring Constance and defiant, romantic Sophia--over the course of nearly half a century. Bennett traces the lives of the sisters from childhood in their father's drapery shop in provincial Bursley, England, during the mid-Victorian era, through their married lives, to the modern industrial age, when they are reunited as old women. The setting moves from the Five Towns of the Staffordshire Potteries to exotic and cosmopolitan Paris. It was fascinating to learn from Bennett's journal how he saw an old lady in a cafe and was inspired to think of how her life might have been lived, how she must have once been young. The plot of the novel came to him fairly promptly, and, as they say, the rest is history. This novel was serialized on British television with great success circa 2000.
Gender
Main Characters
Book Details
- Format Paperback
- Pages 565 pages
- Publisher Modern Library
- Publication Date November 1st 1999
- First Publication 10/29/08
- Language English
- ISBN 9780375754906
- Edition Modern Library 100 Best Novels Edition
- Category Fiction
- Scenario ['United Kingdom', 'Paris (France)', 'Bursley (Stoke on Trent), England (United Kingdom)', 'Stoke-on-Trent, England (United Kingdom)']
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