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Available
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Publication
Signet Classics / New American Library (1963), Mass Market Paperback, 584 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML: Regarded as one of Arnold Bennett's finest works, The Old Wives' Tale was first published in 1908. It tells the story of sisters Constance and Sophia Baines, both very different from one another, and follows their lives from youth into old age. Bennett's inspiration was an encounter in a Parisian restaurant: "an old woman came into the restaurant to dine. She was fat, shapeless, ugly, and grotesque. She had a ridiculous voice, and ridiculous gestures. It was easy to see that she lived alone, and that in the long lapse of years she had developed the kind of peculiarity which induces guffaws among the thoughtless." and "I reflected, concerning the grotesque diner: "This woman was once young, slim, perhaps beautiful; certainly free from these ridiculous mannerisms. Very probably she is unconscious of her singularities. Her case is a tragedy. One ought to be able to make a heartrending novel out of the history of a woman such as she." Every stout, ageing woman is not grotesque--far from it!--but there is an extreme pathos in the mere fact that every stout ageing woman was once a young girl with the unique charm of youth in her form and movements and in her mind. And the fact that the change from the young girl to the stout ageing woman is made up of an infinite number of infinitesimal changes, each unperceived by her, only intensifies the pathos.".… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jwhenderson
Arnold Bennett's The Old Wives' Tale is a good, but not great, novel about the lives led by two women from a small town in England. While he writes with both a high degree of realism and historical accuracy there are moments, especially in the opening chapters, that test the reader's patience. His
Bennett's ability to successfully develop believable female characters with the protagonists is one of the best aspects of this novel. His realistic style compares favorably with William Dean Howells whose novel, The Rise of Silas Lapham, also demonstrates a sensitive portrayal of women. I found that the novel became more interesting as each of the four sections unfolded, ultimately becoming a satisfying portrayal of small town life during the end of the Victorian era.
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devotion to the quotidian details of everyday life does not always rise to the level of interest, even when presented well by a master prose stylist. Our Lincoln Park Book Group discussed this novel this evening and concluded that Bennett succeeded in his attempt at realism and that the characters, particularly the two sisters, Sophia and Constance, had depth and believability.Bennett's ability to successfully develop believable female characters with the protagonists is one of the best aspects of this novel. His realistic style compares favorably with William Dean Howells whose novel, The Rise of Silas Lapham, also demonstrates a sensitive portrayal of women. I found that the novel became more interesting as each of the four sections unfolded, ultimately becoming a satisfying portrayal of small town life during the end of the Victorian era.
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LibraryThing member edella
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
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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. Show Less
LibraryThing member lucybrown
At long last I have finished it! Arnold Bennett is one of the authors I have always meant to read; however, I never really made much effort to do so. One reason I suppose that I haven't rushed out to read his work is that it comes with that "naturalist" label,and that is a category that is less
The book is sometimes termed as a tragedy, and I suppose it is in some ways. I won't say much more here about that since I don't want to give anything away. One of the more delightful things about the book is Bennett sympatehtic depiction of admirable woman of spirit, something at which few male writers of the time period were especially adept. I certainly got the sense that he liked these woman and admired them.
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appealing to me. I suppose my evaluation of the books is that it is a minutely observed portrait of two sisters of different temperaments coming to womanhood in the mid-19 century. Yet minutely observed is a bit of an understatement; it is,in fact, tedious at times. The last quarter of the book found me skipping largish passages. The characters are well established. While Constance is often referred to as the "very pattern" of a wife and mother, she never slips into a mere stereotype. Sophia, the more beautiful and willful of the sisters, is a marvel of industry and ingenuity. Constance's son Cyril nearly rivals the Georges of The Magnificent Ambersons and Vanity Fair in egocentricity and maternal neglect, and general thoughtlessness, though, on the whole he is more likable, and at least not a dolt and lay about. And Constance isn't brainless enough as to ignore his every act of indifference and fancy him a paragon.The book is sometimes termed as a tragedy, and I suppose it is in some ways. I won't say much more here about that since I don't want to give anything away. One of the more delightful things about the book is Bennett sympatehtic depiction of admirable woman of spirit, something at which few male writers of the time period were especially adept. I certainly got the sense that he liked these woman and admired them.
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LibraryThing member weird_O
Modern Library's list of the 20th century's 100 best English-language novels was my introduction to Arnold Bennett's [The Old Wives' Tale]. Published in 1908, it bobbed on the waves of nearly 100 years of literary output to beach itself at #87 on that list. At 729 pages, it isn't short—in fact it
The story is that of sisters Constance and Sophia Baines. Their parents own and operate a draper's shop in a small English town. (A draper sells fabric and notions and makes clothing.) By the time the sisters are in their teens, Mr. Baines has suffered a catastrophic stroke and is bedridden, largely helpless. Mrs. Baines is running the shop and directing the work of the several employees. The sisters display different temperments. Constance, as her name suggests, is reserved, obedient, practical, conscientious. Sophia, several years younger, is impulsive, independent, passionate.
Sophia chafes at the prospect of a life behind the shop counters and, through persistance, persuades her mother to allow her remain in school beyond the time girls usually quit. She wants to be a teacher; until, that is, she is smitten by a traveling salesman. Convinced he intends to marry her, she sneaks away and is squired to London, with the next stop to be Paree. He gets her to Paris, but only after marrying her (which of course was never his plan. Because of her impulsive elopement, Sophia cuts herself off from her family, certain they want nothing to do with her. Her husband burns through all their money, then badgers her to solicit funds from her family. When she refuses, he abandons her.
Back in England, Constance remains with her mother, working in the shop. She marries the business manager of the shop and they take over when Mrs. Baines dies. She maintains the same domestic routine of the household her mother established. The business grows. Constance has a son. Her husband dies; she carries on.
The book is structured in four parts. The first is devoted to the sisters' lives with their mother. The second tells of Constance's life, the third of Sophia's life in Paris. In part four, Sophia contacts her sister and returns from Paris to her birthplace in England. Both women are financially well off, yet neither can break out of her now-well-established life routine.
In an introduction, Bennett wrote that a chance encounter in a Paris restaurant inspired the book. A woman he described as "grotesque" came in and attracted his interest.
It was easy to see that she lived alone, and that in the long lapse of years she had developed the kind of peculiarity which induces guffaws among the thoughtless…One ought to be able to make a heartrending novel out of the history of a woman such as she… the mere fact that every stout ageing woman was once a young girl with the unique charm of youth in her form and movements and in her mind. And the fact that the change from the young girl to the stout ageing woman is made up of an infinite number of infinitesimal changes, each unperceived by her, only intensifies the pathos.
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was my first Dead-weight Doorstop challenger for 2016—nor is it upbeat. But it was not, for me, a wallow in misery and despair.The story is that of sisters Constance and Sophia Baines. Their parents own and operate a draper's shop in a small English town. (A draper sells fabric and notions and makes clothing.) By the time the sisters are in their teens, Mr. Baines has suffered a catastrophic stroke and is bedridden, largely helpless. Mrs. Baines is running the shop and directing the work of the several employees. The sisters display different temperments. Constance, as her name suggests, is reserved, obedient, practical, conscientious. Sophia, several years younger, is impulsive, independent, passionate.
Sophia chafes at the prospect of a life behind the shop counters and, through persistance, persuades her mother to allow her remain in school beyond the time girls usually quit. She wants to be a teacher; until, that is, she is smitten by a traveling salesman. Convinced he intends to marry her, she sneaks away and is squired to London, with the next stop to be Paree. He gets her to Paris, but only after marrying her (which of course was never his plan. Because of her impulsive elopement, Sophia cuts herself off from her family, certain they want nothing to do with her. Her husband burns through all their money, then badgers her to solicit funds from her family. When she refuses, he abandons her.
Back in England, Constance remains with her mother, working in the shop. She marries the business manager of the shop and they take over when Mrs. Baines dies. She maintains the same domestic routine of the household her mother established. The business grows. Constance has a son. Her husband dies; she carries on.
The book is structured in four parts. The first is devoted to the sisters' lives with their mother. The second tells of Constance's life, the third of Sophia's life in Paris. In part four, Sophia contacts her sister and returns from Paris to her birthplace in England. Both women are financially well off, yet neither can break out of her now-well-established life routine.
In an introduction, Bennett wrote that a chance encounter in a Paris restaurant inspired the book. A woman he described as "grotesque" came in and attracted his interest.
It was easy to see that she lived alone, and that in the long lapse of years she had developed the kind of peculiarity which induces guffaws among the thoughtless…One ought to be able to make a heartrending novel out of the history of a woman such as she… the mere fact that every stout ageing woman was once a young girl with the unique charm of youth in her form and movements and in her mind. And the fact that the change from the young girl to the stout ageing woman is made up of an infinite number of infinitesimal changes, each unperceived by her, only intensifies the pathos.
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LibraryThing member leslie.98
I don't really know what to say about this book. It was easy to read and kept my interest throughout; some passages were humorously sarcastic (I wish there had been more of these!). Despite the title, it is really the story of the lives of 2 sisters from teen years until their deaths. Constance and
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Sophia would have been contemporaries of Meg and Jo in Little Women so it is interesting to see the similarities & differences due to their different settings. One thing that struck me in the early parts of the book was how teenaged girls haven't changed much in 150 years! Show Less
LibraryThing member burritapal
An amazing work. Bennett's book takes two old women, sisters, and imagines the lives they led.
Now, if you are like me, when I was young, I used to make fun of"useless old people." Well, now I'm one of those"useless old things," but I have a different viewpoint now, oh yes I do. I know how my years
Bennett tells the story of these two old English sisters with a beauty that leads the reader to be invested in their believability, and to feel truly sad when their lives, and their story, are finally at an end.
Now, if you are like me, when I was young, I used to make fun of"useless old people." Well, now I'm one of those"useless old things," but I have a different viewpoint now, oh yes I do. I know how my years
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have been spent, in quiet joy, in bleak despair, working hard, raising two daughters alone after an abusive marriage, often misunderstood, and finally, able to retire. And nearly every one of us "useless old people" has a similar story.Bennett tells the story of these two old English sisters with a beauty that leads the reader to be invested in their believability, and to feel truly sad when their lives, and their story, are finally at an end.
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LibraryThing member strandbooks
The Old Wives Tale follows two sisters, Constance and Sophia as they age. It begins in the 1860s when the girls are teens. One sister stays home in the middle of England, while the other is in Paris. Their lives are affected by the changes due to the industrial revolution.
This book reminded me a
This book reminded me a
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lot of Dreiser. I think Bennett would be considered a realist. Also, I liked the preface because Bennett explains the life experience that gave him the idea for the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kristelh
A story of two sisters aptly titled Old Wives' Tale because it tells the ordinary progression of time till we die of these two English women. The author wrote in the fashion of Balzac. Arnold Bennett captured the life of a women well. The book also reflects a time when transportation and commerce
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is changing. This 600 plus page book reads fast because it is enjoyable. Show Less
LibraryThing member cdeuker
Realistic fiction in the tradition of Zola. Bennett follows two sisters as they move from young girls to old women. No sentimentality at all--there is not one attractive character in the book. Constance stays in the shop her whole life, marries the hired man (Povey) and has one child, Cyril, who
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shows no particular gratitude to her for her devotion to him. Sophie runs off with Gerald Scales who squanders all their money and then leave her alone in Paris where she makes a life for herself as an inn keeper. Well written, though the construction is a little clunky. (Bennett follows one sister until she is near 50 and then backs up to the other sister at 19.) Show Less
LibraryThing member palaverofbirds
Very enjoyable, an interesting plot of intersecting lives of two sisters who forged different destinies. Seemed quite modern, or ahead of its time, I would've assumed it was decades newer than it is.
LibraryThing member palaverofbirds
Very enjoyable, an interesting plot of intersecting lives of two sisters who forged different destinies. Seemed quite modern, or ahead of its time, I would've assumed it was decades newer than it is.
LibraryThing member palaverofbirds
Very enjoyable, an interesting plot of intersecting lives of two sisters who forged different destinies. Seemed quite modern, or ahead of its time, I would've assumed it was decades newer than it is.
LibraryThing member palaverofbirds
Very enjoyable, an interesting plot of intersecting lives of two sisters who forged different destinies. Seemed quite modern, or ahead of its time, I would've assumed it was decades newer than it is.
LibraryThing member lucybrown
At long last I have finished it! Arnold Bennett is one of the authors I have always meant to read; however, I never really made much effort to do so. One reason I suppose that I haven't rushed out to read his work is that it comes with that "naturalist" label,and that is a category that is less
The book is sometimes termed as a tragedy, and I suppose it is in some ways. I won't say much more here about that since I don't want to give anything away. One of the more delightful things about the book is Bennett sympatehtic depiction of admirable woman of spirit, something at which few male writers of the time period were especially adept. I certainly got the sense that he liked these woman and admired them.
Show More
appealing to me. I suppose my evaluation of the books is that it is a minutely observed portrait of two sisters of different temperaments coming to womanhood in the mid-19 century. Yet minutely observed is a bit of an understatement; it is,in fact, tedious at times. The last quarter of the book found me skipping largish passages. The characters are well established. While Constance is often referred to as the "very pattern" of a wife and mother, she never slips into a mere stereotype. Sophia, the more beautiful and willful of the sisters, is a marvel of industry and ingenuity. Constance's son Cyril nearly rivals the Georges of The Magnificent Ambersons and Vanity Fair in egocentricity and maternal neglect, and general thoughtlessness, though, on the whole he is more likable, and at least not a dolt and lay about. And Constance isn't brainless enough as to ignore his every act of indifference and fancy him a paragon.The book is sometimes termed as a tragedy, and I suppose it is in some ways. I won't say much more here about that since I don't want to give anything away. One of the more delightful things about the book is Bennett sympatehtic depiction of admirable woman of spirit, something at which few male writers of the time period were especially adept. I certainly got the sense that he liked these woman and admired them.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lucybrown
At long last I have finished it! Arnold Bennett is one of the authors I have always meant to read; however, I never really made much effort to do so. One reason I suppose that I haven't rushed out to read his work is that it comes with that "naturalist" label,and that is a category that is less
The book is sometimes termed as a tragedy, and I suppose it is in some ways. I won't say much more here about that since I don't want to give anything away. One of the more delightful things about the book is Bennett sympatehtic depiction of admirable woman of spirit, something at which few male writers of the time period were especially adept. I certainly got the sense that he liked these woman and admired them.
Show More
appealing to me. I suppose my evaluation of the books is that it is a minutely observed portrait of two sisters of different temperaments coming to womanhood in the mid-19 century. Yet minutely observed is a bit of an understatement; it is,in fact, tedious at times. The last quarter of the book found me skipping largish passages. The characters are well established. While Constance is often referred to as the "very pattern" of a wife and mother, she never slips into a mere stereotype. Sophia, the more beautiful and willful of the sisters, is a marvel of industry and ingenuity. Constance's son Cyril nearly rivals the Georges of The Magnificent Ambersons and Vanity Fair in egocentricity and maternal neglect, and general thoughtlessness, though, on the whole he is more likable, and at least not a dolt and lay about. And Constance isn't brainless enough as to ignore his every act of indifference and fancy him a paragon.The book is sometimes termed as a tragedy, and I suppose it is in some ways. I won't say much more here about that since I don't want to give anything away. One of the more delightful things about the book is Bennett sympatehtic depiction of admirable woman of spirit, something at which few male writers of the time period were especially adept. I certainly got the sense that he liked these woman and admired them.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1908
ISBN
none