Classics · WarmConstance and Sophia Baines grow up in their family's shop in Bursley, then take very different paths
The Old Wives' Tale
Two sisters, one who stays in an English town and one who leaves for Paris, across a lifetime
Constance and Sophia Baines are two very different sisters, followed from their youth in their family's shop through old age. The story covers roughly 1840 to 1905 and is set in Bursley, a fictionalized version of Burslem in Staffordshire, and in Paris. Sophia leaves Bursley for Paris with a travelling salesman, Gerald Scales, while Constance stays behind and marries Samuel Povey. It was published in 1908.
More about this book
Who
Constance and Sophia Baines, their mother Mrs. Baines, Gerald Scales and Samuel Povey.
World
Bursley, a fictionalized version of Burslem in Staffordshire, and Paris, from roughly 1840 to 1905.
What makes it different
Bennett was inspired by a chance encounter in a Parisian restaurant and also drew on Maupassant's Une Vie.
Feel
Warm and unhurried.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- The Old Wives' TaleWikipedia