''The Old Wives' Tale'' is a novel by Arnold Bennett, first published in 1908. It deals with the lives of two very different sisters, Constance and Sophia Baines, following their stories from their youth, working in their mother's draper's shop, into old age. It covers a period of about 70 years from roughly 1840 to 1905, and is set in Bursley (modeled on Burslem) and Paris. It is generally regarded as one of Bennett's finest works. The old wives' tale

Bennett was initially inspired to write the book by a chance encounter in a Parisian restaurant. In the introduction to the book, he says and Bennett also found inspiration in Maupassant's novel '' Une Vie''.

Plot details

The book is divided into four parts. The first section, "Mrs Baines", details the adolescence of both Sophia and Constance, and their life in their father's shop and house (a combined property). The father is ill and bedridden, and the main adult in their life is Mrs Baines, their mother. By the end of the first book, Sophia (whose name reflects her sophistication, as opposed to the constant Constance) has

elope Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...

d with a

travelling salesman A travelling salesman is a travelling door-to-door seller of goods, also known as a peddler. Travelling salesman may also refer to: * Travelling salesman problem, in discrete or combinatorial optimization * ''The Traveling Salesman'', a 1908 p ...

. Constance meanwhile marries Mr Povey, who works in the shop. The second part, "Constance", details the life of Constance from that point forward up until the time she is reunited with her sister in old age. Her life, although outwardly prosaic, is nevertheless filled with personal incident, including the death of her husband, Mr Povey, and her concerns about the character and behaviour of her son. The third part, "Sophia", carries forward the story of what happened to Sophia after her elopement. Abandoned by her husband in Paris, Sophia eventually becomes the owner of a successful

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

. The final part, "What Life Is", details how the two sisters are eventually reunited. Sophia returns to England and the house of her childhood, where Constance still lives.

Details and legacy

According to Tom Wolfe (''Hooking Up'', p. 148), the book was "wildly successful," with the author demurring with "I don't read my reviews, I measure them." In 1998, the

Modern Library The Modern Library is an American book publishing imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Modern Library became an ...

ranked ''The Old Wives' Tale'' No. 87 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. A facsimile edition of the manuscript has been published, which is a testament to Bennett's calligraphic skills. The original manuscript is in the

Lilly Library The Lilly Library, located on the campus of Indiana University (Bloomington), Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is an important rare book and manuscript library in the United States. At its dedication on October 3, 1960, the library co ...

, Indiana. It was adapted into a 1921 film ''

The Old Wives' Tale ''The Old Wives' Tale'' is a novel by Arnold Bennett, first published in 1908. It deals with the lives of two very different sisters, Constance and Sophia Baines, following their stories from their youth, working in their mother's draper's sho ...

'' starring Fay Compton. It was made into a TV series by the BBC in 1988 as ''

Sophia and Constance ''Sophia and Constance'' is a British drama television series that originally aired on the BBC in six episodes from 13 April to 18 May 1988. It was an adaptation of the 1908 novel ''The Old Wives' Tale'' by Arnold Bennett, which follows the lives o ...

''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Old Wives' Tale 1908 British novels Novels by Arnold Bennett Novels set in Staffordshire Novels set in Paris Chapman & Hall books British novels adapted into television shows British novels adapted into films