The Old Wives’ Tale (Modern Library Classics)
The Old Wives’ Tale by Arnold Bennett, published by Modern Library in a reprint edition in December 1999, spans 608 pages and is presented in English. This novel, first published in 1908, chronicles the lives of the Baines sisters, Constance and Sophia, as they navigate their experiences from childhood in a drapery shop in Bursley, England, through their marriages, and into their later years during the industrial age. The narrative shifts between the familiar settings of the Five Towns and the vibrant backdrop of Paris, capturing the essence of their ordinary yet significant lives.
Readers will find a rich exploration of the sisters’ contrasting personalities and life choices, as the story unfolds over nearly fifty years. The novel delves into themes of domestic life and personal growth, set against historical events such as the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. With commentary from notable figures like Virginia Woolf and H. G. Wells, this edition offers insights into Bennett’s realistic storytelling and the societal changes of his time.
Official synopsis Publisher
With a New Introduction by Francine Prose
Commentary by Rebecca West, W. Somerset Maugham,
Virginia Woolf, H. G. Wells, Henry James, and J. B. Priestley
” [Arnold Bennett’s] superb Old Wives’ Tale, wandering from person to person and from scene to scene, is by far the finest ‘long novel’ that has been written in English and in the English fashion, in this generation.”
–H. G. Wells
First published in 1908, The Old Wives’ Tale affirms the integrity of ordinary lives as 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 sisters’ lives 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 Staffordshire to exotic and cosmopolitan Paris, while the action moves from the subdued domestic routine of the Baines household to the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
“Like Wordsworth, [Arnold Bennett] has triumphed over the habitual; he has not let it disguise the particle of beauty from him.”–Rebecca West
ARNOLD BENNETT (1867-1931) looked to Flaubert, Maupassant, and Balzac for inspiration in the fashioning of his own acutely realistic novels, including his masterpiece, The Old Wives’ Tale (1908). His first novel was A Man from the North (1898), and he is also known for his Clayhanger trilogy (1910-16).
The author of thirteen books of fiction, FRANCINE PROSE is a
fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities and the New York Public Library’s Center for Scholars and Writers.
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