About this title: The story of two sisters--conventional Constance, who marries one of her father's shopkeepers, and Sophia, who elopes to Paris with her scoundrelly lover. This entertaining and probing tale of English provincial life is Arnold Bennett's English equivalent of the realistic French novel as written by Balzac, Flaubert, and Zola.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books, London
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780140182552ISBN:0140182551
Description: Good. General signs of wear on spine and front and back covers. Some corners of pages folded over. "SHEP 3 LIBRARY" written in marker on outer pages (when book is closed). 617 p. Introduction and Notes by John Wain. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 19
Date Published: 1911
Description: Good. ---Hard Cover. Good/No Jacket. New Edition. 8vo-over 7 3/4"-9 3/4" tall. 612 pages. Interior-there is light-to-moderate cracking on the inside of the front and back boards. The boards and spine have ligh t soiling and surface wear, and there is light-to-moderate edgewear. -Publish Place: -Size: read more
Binding: PAPERBACK
Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers
ISBN-13:9780915864775ISBN:0915864770
Description: Very Good. 0915864770 Not a used copy....Surface and edge wear and cover creasing. Inside pages clean, binding tight. No remainder marks. Shipped with delivery confirmation inside US. Selling books since 1979*p/BB6-83. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Modern Library
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9780375754906ISBN:0375754903
Description: Acceptable. 324-U. Ex-library. Books rated "Acceptable" may have significant wear & tear; may have significant amounts of underlining, highlighting, or notes; may have moderate stains, creases, or tears; may have cracked spines or loose pages; may have the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription; or may be library discards. read more
Binding: Unknown Binding
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, G.H. Doran C
Date Published: 1911
Description: Acceptable. HARDCOVER. No dust jacket. Cover heavily worn, spine is cut at rear hinge for top half of book. Headcap is still attached. Inside hinge is cracked at back cover. - read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers! Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: PAPERBACK
Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers
ISBN-13:9780915864775ISBN:0915864770
Description: Fair. 0915864770 Condition: ACCEPTABLE. (Book has a combination of the following characteristics: former library book, heavy cover wear, name written inside cover, considerable underlining/highlighting, remainder mark, pages tanning / curling, etc. Overall, the book is in rough shape and should only be purchased as a reading copy. This is a blanket description. Please email us if you require a specific, detailed description of the book condition. We will typically respond within one week of ... read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Modern Library, N. Y., 1911
Description: 12 mo., hardcover, hinges broken, covers faded. Reading copy only. Chronicle of the Five Towns and France during the siege of Paris. 640 pages. read more
"I LOVED THIS BOOK! First published in 1908, it read like a modern-day novel - not tedious and wordy like many Victorian novels. The author painted such vivid characters, scenery and narrative that it was very easy to get swept up in the storyline. Covering a span of 50 years the story is about two sisters, Constance and Sophia Baines, following their lives from youth into old age. The book is broken down into four "books": Book 1 is about the teen-aged girls and their mother; Book 2 is a chronicle of Constance's life; Book 3 is Sophia's story and in Book 4 the sisters are reunited in their old age. Constance is the 'constant" one who remains at home and lives a very provincial life; Sophia, the "sophisticated" one chooses romance and adventure and elopes to France with a traveling salesman. There is much in this book that can relate to our lives today."
"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 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 that few male writers of the time period were not especially adept at. I really got the sense that he liked these woman and admired them."
"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 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."
"It was beautifully written and kind of sad, especially towards the end. Not a story of 2 lives filled with joy, that's for sure, but still, I really liked it"
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