I found myself staying up hours past my bedtime completely lost in this book. Regardless of the time period of the story the attitudes and concerns of the characters are timeless. If you find it doesn't draw you in then I suggest you put it down and read it again when you are twenty years older. Many of the sentiments and situations may make more sense after you have lived a bit longer!

Having read Maupassant’s Une Vie, Arnold Bennett reckoned the time had come for his own epic realist masterpiece, so the formidable chronicler of the late-Victorian bourgeoisie Up North powered through the writing in under a year. The results follow the lives of two sisters from Bursley (now part of Stoke-on-Trent) from their years as flighty youths to their creaky descents into sciatica and rheumatism. As a realist novel, this is as painfully realist a novel as you are likely to ever read. Nowhere are the conveniently brave leaps of courage to power along the plot, the melodramatic conniptions of the early Victorian novels, or the fanciful idea of decent people prospering over the pricks. Here, we have in excruciating detail two characters stoically making the most of their lots, experiencing the small pleasures, the epic failures, the tickertape of anxieties, and the vaunting disappointments of the quotidian, in a way that is almost unbearably accurate, written with a depth of compassion and wisdom that is fairly staggering. You’ll find this novel on a par of brilliance with Henry James’s Portrait of a Lady and Gaskell’s North and South, if you have your eyeballs in the right place.

In the autumn of 1903 Arnold Bennett used to dine recurrently at a small, undistinguished Paris restaurant. Once he saw the waiters and customers mocking and scorning a "fat, shapeless, ugly, and grotesque old woman” whose peculiar mannerisms soon "had the whole restaurant laughing at her."

Reflecting that her case was a tragedy, Bennett realized that "this woman was once young, slim, perhaps beautiful." With the example of Guy de Maupassant's Line Vie in mind, Bennett decided to write a novel in which the hero and villain would be "time" as it remorselessly converts a lovely, spirited young girl into a pathetic old frump. Thus the idea for The Old Wives Tale was born,

But where Maupassant had chronicled one woman's passage from innocent youth to disillusioned old age, Bennett decided to use two, in order to to appraise and compare the effect of the forces of heredity and environment.

Both Constance and Sophia are Baineses; that is to say, fundamentally granite-willed, indomitable North of England women.

By separating them early in life, keeping Constance in the environment of her birth and sending Sophia to the totally different environment of besieged Paris, Bennett was able to show that, except for superficial differences, a person's character will remain principally what it was at birth.

Constance stoically endures her long, uneventful life in Bursley, while Sophia, as much a Baines as her sister, triumphs over a rubbish and useless husband, a completely foreign atmosphere, and even a great famine, to become a success in business. But like Constance, Sophia ends up a lonely old woman.

The triumph of The Old Wives' Tale, then, is in its subtle, meticulous study of time's erosions.

Ever so gradually the girls become less playful, less self-assured, but better able to take care of themselves and more inured to loneliness in their very different environments.

Time works its havoc on them and in the end wins a hollow victory over these two indomitable women.

With quiet confidence and steadfast self-assurance in his power to keep two plots moving simultaneously, Bennett set out quite purposely in The Old Wives' Tale to write what he knew would be his masterpiece.

He even learned penmanship so that the manuscript itself would be a work of art, as indeed a published facsimile edition of it shows it to be.

Following his usual rigid writing schedule, thinking out each episode a day in advance during long walks in the beautiful forest of Fontaine- bleu, Bennett attained his goal.

‘The Old Wives' Tale combines the ruthlessly and brutally accurate detail of French realism with the gusto and comicality that have always characterized English fiction.

If life seeks to cow you down, and cow down and submit you must, give life a hell of a fight --- the fight of a lifetime.

تاريخ القراءة الأصلي : ٢٠٠١
ممتعة وبسيطة

Not exactly boring - perhaps too well-written for that. Rather say, unmemorable.
That is, I remember the plot perfectly well. Such as it is. But, while I accept that simple, worthy people leading simple, worthy lives, sometimes making mistakes, falling out and eventually making up, are really realistic and good to have around you - they are not any too interesting to read about. Probably the only thing that ever calls this book to my mind is its description of Paris siege - the main point of which is, ironically, that ordinary people didn't notice it much.

This is a substantial tale related in straightforward, mostly linear fashion, that is nevertheless rich in detail and the evocations of the times and locations in which it is set.

Constance and Sophia Baines are two young girls growing up in the second half of the 19th century in Bursley, one of the 'Five Towns' of the Staffordshire Potteries area (where my own ancestors have some roots).

They are the daughters of parents who own a well-established and profitable drapery business.

As the two girls develop towards womanhood, they choose contrasting paths in life.

Constance, the elder, steadier daughter, chooses to marry Samuel Povey, an employee of the family business and, after the deaths of her parents, Constance and Samuel become proprietors of the business, which initially continues to prosper. After several years, they have a son, Cyril, whom Constance adores. On the death of her husband, and the departure of Cyril to London, Constance is left largely alone and lonely.

By contrast, the younger, more beautiful and flightier Sophia, elopes with a travelling salesman, Gerald Scales, who takes her to Paris, marries her, somewhat reluctantly, and proceeds to squander his modest fortune. Broke and desperate, he abandons Sophia in Paris.

With some initial assistance from a devoted friend, Chirac, Sophia overcomes a serious illness and, with a stoic determination, becomes a respected and wealthy owner of a boarding house renowned for its high standards.

Through the lives of these two women, Bennett has recorded the social and industrial progress of Midlands England and Paris through ad beyond the Franco-Prussian War.

The sisters are eventually reconciled after a period of more than 30 years; Constance a lonely, stout and staid widow, and Sophia, uncertain whether her husband is still alive, more worldly and vivacious.

However, Constance's conservative ways prevail and the two sisters continue to live together in the old family home in Bursley, mostly harmoniously, until their respective deaths.

While providing a fascinating social commentary and record of progress through the 19th and very early 20th centuries, Bennett has written an intriguing and compassionate tale of the lives of two related but different women, who remain united in the bonds of family love and underlying values despite their varied world views and personalities.

More than 100 years on, this remains a truly wonderful tale that anyone could enjoy.

A testament to the power and influence of Goodreads is the discovery of this gem which otherwise would have escaped my notice.

Bennett grabbed me with the second sentence of his preface and never let go for a moment. In many ways this 5 page preface is more compelling than the actual novel. Here he relates an anecdote of sitting in a favorite cafe when an old woman comes in talking to herself and dropping her parcels. She is the subject of immediate ridicule by the two waitresses, one old enough to know better and one young enough to be more charitable. He muses that this fat, ugly, old woman was once young, slim, perhaps beautiful but most certainly free of her ridiculous mannerisms. He continues that thought with the realization “…that the change from the young girl to the stout aging woman is made up of an infinite number of infinitesimal changes, each unperceived by her…” This is the story he writes but with two sisters, Sophia and Constance, whose lives he chronicles from girlhood through old age across a canvas that stretches from a provincial English town to Paris and back. Initially published in 1908, the story is set in the mid 19th century.

This is a book of small moments – the petty disappointments, jealousies, power struggles and vanities that are woven into every life. There are no grand gestures here. Joselito in his review absolutely nailed it when he wrote, “It's an exciting, unputdownable reading frenzy of non-events.” The lasso? Bennett’s deft observations and characterizations. I can’t think of another writer who has captured youth and aging better than he. On youth: “As for them, they marveled at the phenomena presented in Sophia’s person; they admired; they admitted the style of her gown; but they envied neither her innocence nor her beauty; they envied nothing but her youth and the fresh tint of her cheeks.” On aging: “Nothing could destroy the structure of her beauty, but she looked worn and appreciably older.” On acceptance: “The truth was that, though her bereavement had been the cause of a most genuine and durable sorrow, it had been a relief to her. When Constance was over fifty, the energetic and masterful Sophia had burst in upon her lethargic tranquility and very seriously disturbed the flow of old habits. Certainly Constance had fought Sophia on the main point, and won; but on a hundred minor points she had either lost or had not fought. Sophia had been ‘too much’ for Constance, and it had been only by a wearying expenditure of nervous force that Constance had succeeded in holding a small part of her own against the unconscious domination of Sophia. The death of Mrs. Scales had put an end to all the strain, and Constance had been once again mistress in Constance’s house. Constance would never have admitted these facts, even to herself; and no one would ever have dared to suggest them to her. For with all her temperamental mildness she had her formidable side.”

Bennett underscores that no life is ever small to the person living it. Think about that for a moment: no life is ever small to the person living it. Annie Lamott once wrote, “I may not be much but I’m all I think about.” Bennett's sentiments exactly. A pitch perfect novel – recommended without reservation.

Note: I read the Modern Library edition which shows a date of 1911 but I don't think that's right. The preface was written by Bennett which may not be included in the edition with the introduction by Francine Prose.

We do regret when some good books come to an end. This is one of them. What a magnificent and unforgettable book!! I shouldn't have waited for too long to read this masterpiece.

Free download available at Project Gutenberg.

4* Anna of the Five Towns
3* The Grand Babylon Hotel
3* The Strange Vanguard
5* The Old Wives' Tale
TR The Card
TR A Great Man
TR Clayhanger
TR The Lion's Share
TR Hilda Lessways

I discovered this masterpiece while looking through Margaret Drabble’s list of favorite books. And one really can imagine her using it as a template for her writing, where plot recedes in importance and the day to day lives of our everyday characters try to hold our attention.
Should we maybe laugh a little when we see Drabble positioning herself as the inheritor of English feminine literature while Bennet was trying to copy French realism? (Maupassant!)
The description of mundane lives, that don’t need a supercharged plot to engage the reader’s attention, offers an honest mirror to our daily lives. And allows us to meditate on the meaninglessness of our lives that is always buried beneath the inevitable cares of our humanity.
I admire Bennet’s sentences very much. They flow, and have a quality that some might call ‘buttery.’ That is, his metaphors and images are confident to not need to shout for attention (Hey! Look how clever I am!). Each one invites the next, feeding the reader with deep human experience in the simplest language.
Bennet’s rooting in Staffordshire greatly enhances the sense of character and fate that arises out of a local identity. I can’t think of an American author with an equally developed sense of place. Our provinces are heterogeneous, put together from a wild array of value systems and histories.
A superfluous criticism that may serve as a warning: never write an introduction to your own book! Never let us see the master plans of your building.

I can't even remember why I bought this book. It's been in my pile for years. It can't have been because it was on the Modern Library list of 100 Best Novels (coming in at #87), for there are still books on that list that I have no intention of reading. My best guess is that it was referenced somewhere by W. Somerset Maugham, my favorite author, although he also steered me to George Meredith, whom I didn't like at all. The why doesn't matter, I suppose, as it has turned out to be one of those books that makes me flutter with excitement, imagining it sitting there, a few feet from where I sleep, in all its magnificence, just waiting for me to read it.

It started slowly, or at least it felt that way, but I attribute that to having read My Dark Vanessa in 2 and a half days while on vacation, and this tale of the lives of two Victorian sisters was a slow-paced swerve away from that. It didn't help that Bennett himself said in the introduction "It was published in autumn of the same year [1908], and for six weeks afterward the English public steadily confirmed an opinion expressed by a certain person in whose judgment I had confidence, to the effect that the work was honest but dull, and that when it was not dull it had a regrettable tendency to facetiousness." Great

But once I was (literally) out of the woods and back home reading a chapter a night, I quickly got caught up in the story of Constance and Sophia, sisters living in the house attached to their parents' drapery shop in a small industrial English town, circa 1860-ish. Bennett was inspired to write this book after seeing an old lady and being struck with the realization that she was once young and had a full life; so this presents the full lives of its protagonists.

After a few chapters with them as young teens, the books splits into sections. First, practical Constance marries Samuel, who works in the shop, and settles (as her weight expands) into a devoted wife, business owner, and too-doting mother to son Cyril. Once she's established in early middle age, the next section reverses to tell us of Sophia's life, after she elopes with a local salesman, who's recently come into an inheritance from his guardian uncle. They move to Paris, and there Sophia stays, virtually uncommunicative to her provincial family, until she, too, hits middle age. The final chunk of the book sees Constance and Sophia (and their two dogs, prominent characters in their own right) living together again in the family home until their bittersweet deaths. Along the way, there are good men, bad men, loose women, slatternly maids, officious shopkeepers, and a host of others. There is a surprising amount of hot air ballooning, too, which I guess was all the rage at this time.

What surprised me most was the humor. Often, we'd get a look at the thoughts of a baby, or one of the dogs, and the writing there is so clever. Constance and Sophia are different people, with different philosophies, but still very much sisters, stubborn and set in their ways. Even though I know I'll forget the whole book in no time, I will still remember how much I enjoyed spending most of this pandemic August with these two women. This book is a forgotten gem.

Arnold Bennet was prolific and very well know in his time, but I don’t think many people read him now. I only read this because it is on the Modern Library 100 20th century in English best list. The book was an interesting blend of old fashioned and modern. According to the author’s introduction, he wanted to write a cradle to grave, realist account of a person’s life. He doesn’t quite start at the cradle, however. The book opens with the two main protagonists, Constance and Sophia, with the girls taking advantage their freedom during their mother’s short absence from their family’s draper shop. From there, it does go to the grave, however, for both women as they mature and move in different directions in their lives; Constance stays home to help run the shop while Sophia’s life unexpectedly goes in a very different direction. Arnold Bennett clearly sees the humor in life. He also sees the pathos and is not afraid to be fairly candid (for the Edwardian era) about human relationships.

I was absorbed in this tale of two sisters the entire time, despite the length. Andy Minter read the LibriVox audiobook wonderfully. I knew I would enjoy anything by Arnold Bennett, but this must be his masterpiece, as others have declared it. He truly understood human nature and wrote in an easily appealing way. Highly recommended.