The Old Wives' Tale

by Arnold BENNETT (1867 - 1931)

Bk 1 Ch 6 Escapade

The Old Wives' Tale

The Old Wives' Tale is a novel by Arnold Bennett, first published in 1908. It deals with the lives of two very different sisters, Constance and Sophia Baines, following their stories from their youth, working in their mother's draper's shop, into old age. It is generally regarded as one of Bennett's finest works. It covers a period of about 70 years from roughly 1840 to 1905, and is set in Burslem and Paris. (Summary by Andy)


Listen next episodes of The Old Wives' Tale:
BBk 4 What Life is Ch 1 Frensham's Pt 1 , Bk 1 Ch 7 A Defeat , Bk 2 Ch 3 Cyril , Bk 2 Ch 4 Crime , Bk 2 Ch 5 Another Crime Pt 1 , Bk 2 Ch 5 Another Crime Pt 2 , Bk 2 Ch 6 The Widow , Bk 2 Ch 7 Bricks and Mortar , Bk 2 Ch 8 The Proudest Mother , Bk 2 Constance Ch 1 Revolution , Bk 3 Ch 2 Supper , Bk 3 Ch 3 An Ambition Satisfied , Bk 3 Ch 4 A Crisis for Gerald , Bk 3 Ch 5 Fever Pt 1 , Bk 3 Ch 5 Fever Pt 2 , Bk 3 Ch 6 The Siege , Bk 3 Ch 7 Success , Bk 3 Sophia Ch 1 The Elopement , Bk 4 Ch 1 Frensham's Pt 2 , Bk 4 Ch 2 The Meeting , Bk 4 Ch 3 Towards Hotel Life Pt 1 , Bk 4 Ch 3 Towards Hotel Life Pt 2 , Bk 4 Ch 4 End of Sophia Pt 1 , Bk 4 Ch 4 End of Sophia Pt 2 , Bk 4 Ch 5 End of Constance , Bk2 Ch 2 Christmas and the Future