A family saga that also serves as a vehicle to portray what the author perceives to be uniquely English virtues, that are too numerous to mention here. There is a long episode set in Paris and naturally the French are cast as lacking something...well, English. It's a wonder that great French novelists didn't consider the English to be worthy of such relentless criticism, as appears so often in English novels. That said, it is a charming and human story.

A beautifully crafted story and one of the very few that I've been able to really get lost in lately. If you like old-fashioned story-telling, as I do, I recommend you try this.

Can't beat a bit of Mr Bennett, slightly rambling but nonetheless a lovely book.

This book improved with age - probably because I'm older. It's amazing - the follies of youth. Arnold Bennett witnessed an old woman in a restaurant one night. She was overweight, slovenly, and comically disinterested in politeness. He wondered about her life and thus this novel was born.

It's the story of two sisters - Constance and Sophia. When they are about 20, they make the choice that shapes their life. Constance marries a store owner and settles into the town where she was born. Sophia elopes with a man and heads to Paris.

The book is a character study - how are they similar? How are they different? What happens to these two ladies. When I was younger, I was upset at their choices. I didn't understand the decision to get "stuck" in life. But now that I'm older, I know about safety and about the comfort of familiarity. I wouldn't make the same choices, but I'm more forgiving and more understanding.

Bennett writes beautiful characters. You might not like Sophia, but you understand the drive to earn money. To never be in poverty. Constance might annoy you, but you can see how she loves her husband and child and will do anything to keep that triangle safe.

It's a long read, but it's worth it.