''The Old Wives' Tale'' is a novel by
Arnold Bennett
Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaborati ...
, 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
Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in ...
) and Paris. It is generally regarded as one of Bennett's finest works.
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
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the Naturalism (literature), naturalist School of thought, sc ...
'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) in Bursley, a lightly dramatised version of
Burslem
Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in ...
.
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, the more adventurous and frivolous sister, Sophia (whose name reflects her sophistication, as opposed to the constant Constance), escapes Bursley to London and
elopes with the
travelling salesman, Gerald Scales, against her family’s wishes. Sophia and her husband alight to Paris and she leaves her family behind, ashamed that the money she used to find her freedom was stolen from her wealthy aunt. Constance meanwhile becomes engaged to Mr. Samuel 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 birth of her son, Cyril; the execution of her brother-in-law, Daniel Povey, who had accidentally killed his alcoholic wife; and the subsequent death of her husband, Samuel, whose health fell into rapid disrepair after his brother’s conviction; and her concerns about the character and behaviour of her son, who nevertheless performs well enough at school to win a competitive and coveted scholarship, which takes him away from home.
The third part, "Sophia", carries forward the story of what happened to Sophia after her elopement. Initially living off her husband, Gerald Scales, £12,000 inheritance, Gerald irresponsibly squanders the sum in a couple of years and runs off, insolvent. Abandoned by her husband in Paris, Sophia shrewdly survives the
Siege of Paris and the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
using a small sum of money she stole from Gerald before his insolvency and eventually becomes the reputable owner of a successful
pension
A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...
.
The final part, "What Life Is", details how the two sisters are eventually reunited and reflects upon how their lives and fates, despite the vast difference in their demeanor, end up in the same town that had connected them from birth, even as the very character of the town changes underneath them. Sophia returns to England and the house of her childhood, where Constance has never left. The last part follows both sisters until their deaths, with Constance’s death coming after she mustered her last physical strength to vote against the federation of Bursley and the Five Towns into a combined city, with deleterious effects on Bursley’s aged city center. The vote fails, a seeming victory for Constance, who passes away. After her death, a loophole is discovered that invalidates the vote, and Bursley is federated with its neighboring cities, a dramatised version of what is today
Stoke-upon-Trent
Stoke-upon-Trent, also known as Stoke, is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Burslem, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton and Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall form the city of Stoke-o ...
.
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 (trade name), 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, Moder ...
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 in Bloomington, Indiana, is an important rare book and manuscript library in the United States. At its dedication on October 3, 1960, the library contained a collection of 20,000 bo ...
,
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
.
It was adapted into a 1921 film ''
The Old Wives' Tale'' starring
Fay Compton. It was made into a TV series by the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in 1988 as ''
Sophia and Constance''.
References
External links
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{{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