{"product_id":"the-old-wives-tale-9791043138294","title":"The Old Wives' Tale","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Arnold Bennett\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Les Prairies Numeriques\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Les Prairies Numeriques\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Ancient, Classical \u0026amp; Medieval\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Old Wives' Tale\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Old\u003c\/strong\u003e Wives' Tale, considered to be one of \u003cstrong\u003eBennett\u003c\/strong\u003e's finest works, begins in the 1860s, in the industrial \"Five Towns\" of the English Midlands, where he set many of his partially-autobiographical stories.The novel follows the prosperous Baines family, who live above the successful clothing shop they own in the town of Bursley (based on Burslem, in Staffordshire). Even when the two Baines daughters were still young, their characters are already formed. \u003cstrong\u003eSophia\u003c\/strong\u003e has \"youth, beauty, and rank in her favour,\" while \u003cstrong\u003eConstance\u003c\/strong\u003e is \"foolishly good-natured,\" with benevolence that is \"eternally rising up and overpowering her reason.\"Their paths diverge quickly. While still in her teens, the headstrong \u003cstrong\u003eSophia\u003c\/strong\u003e elopes with a traveling salesman, leaving England's provinces for Paris. \u003cstrong\u003eConstance\u003c\/strong\u003e, who later marries the head employee at the store, hardly ever leaves their town-or even the square where their shop is located. As the novelist \u003cstrong\u003eJ\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003cstrong\u003eB. Priestley\u003c\/strong\u003e observed, this gently ironic and sprawling novel sets its \"two suffering heroines\" against \"three conquering heroes, \u003cstrong\u003eTime\u003c\/strong\u003e, Mutability, and \u003cstrong\u003eDeath\u003c\/strong\u003e.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Les Prairies Numeriques","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47776391954583,"sku":"9791043138294","price":3476.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9791043138294.webp?v=1777995963","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/the-old-wives-tale-9791043138294","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}