The Old Wives’ Tale - Arnold Bennett

The Old Wives’ Tale

By Arnold Bennett

  • Release Date: 2022-05-10
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature

The Old Wives’ Tale, considered to be one of Bennett’s finest works, begins in the 1860s, in the industrial “Five Towns” of the English Midlands, where he set many of his partially-autobiographical stories.

The novel follows the prosperous Baines family, who live above the successful clothing shop they own in the town of Bursley (based on Burslem, in Staffordshire). Even when the two Baines daughters were still young, their characters are already formed. Sophia has “youth, beauty, and rank in her favour,” while Constance is “foolishly good-natured,” with benevolence that is “eternally rising up and overpowering her reason.”

Their paths diverge quickly. While still in her teens, the headstrong Sophia elopes with a traveling salesman, leaving England’s provinces for Paris. Constance, who later marries the head employee at the store, hardly ever leaves their town—or even the square where their shop is located. As the novelist Priestley observed, this gently ironic and sprawling novel sets its “two suffering heroines” against “three conquering heroes, Time, Mutability, and Death.”

Comments:

12 Comments
Taylor Mackenzie
Amazing! I love this site
Aston Ayers
Only Signup is easy and free, finally I can read this book The Old Wives’ Tale with good quality. Thank you!
Ashley Ann
Been waiting to download this book for months. and finally came out too
Cheryl Lynn
This book The Old Wives’ Tale is very nice, with quick read and download
Erin Cochran Cole
Great selection and quality is better than many Book Store, no kidding.
Kyle Magner
yes, i am also through this to download books
Eric Mn
Yes this really works! Just got my free account
Terry Barnes
One of the best book I've seen this year!
Pastor Shahuano
Excited, Happy Reading guys !!!
Laura Velez Garcia
Thanks, I'm so glad to be reading this book
Wouter van der Giessen
Laura Velez Garcia yes same me too
Janet McCann
Sign up was really easy. Less than 1 minute I was hooked up