{"product_id":"the-old-wives-tale","title":"The Old Wives' Tale","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTwo sisters leave the same childhood behind, but neither can escape the quiet force of time.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbove a draper's shop in smoky Bursley, Constance and Sophia Baines grow up under their firm, thrifty mother's eye. Constance is gentle and dutiful; Sophia is proud, restless and hungry for a wider world. In Arnold Bennett's The Old Wives' Tale, their different temperaments lead them away from a shared home toward very different lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConstance's world gathers around family, the shop and its careful assistant, Samuel Povey. Sophia's path takes her to Paris, far from the pottery towns of Staffordshire. Through marriages, money and quarrels, Bennett gives space to the long middle years. What is at stake is the shape of a whole life, formed slowly through work, love and daily choices.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat you'll discover\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTwo paths from home\u003c\/strong\u003e – Follow sisters whose opposing desires make staying and leaving equally absorbing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA town drawn close\u003c\/strong\u003e – Step into Bursley's busy square, where shop life and family life meet.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA wider world beckons\u003c\/strong\u003e – Travel with Sophia to Paris, where independence carries her far from familiar surroundings.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe years between milestones\u003c\/strong\u003e – Discover how work, money and ordinary quarrels give a life its texture.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTime made deeply felt\u003c\/strong\u003e – Feel slow changes in faces and hearts through Bennett's patient, closely observed storytelling.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers who love long, patient family novels, richly drawn English towns, and stories about work and passing years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpen the first page and enter the Baines sisters' world, where ordinary days carry the weight of a lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Library of Alexandria Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59534673969500,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1027\/9442\/8764\/files\/10311_en_ebook-front_c24.jpg?v=1792175070","url":"https:\/\/libraryofalexandria.com\/products\/the-old-wives-tale","provider":"The Library of Alexandria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}