The Old Wives' Tale

'The Old Wives' Tale' is a novel written by Arnold Bennett that follows the lives of two very different sisters, Constance and Sophia Baines, from their youth while working in their mother's draper's shop, into their old age. The story spans approximately 70 years, from around 1840 to 1905 and is set in Burslem and Paris. It is widely regarded as one of Bennett's finest works.