Underlying book story — recording-specific coverage unverified
Coverage is limited to the scope described in this write-up. Recording changes, further installments or an unwritten ending may remain outside it.
This synopsis covers the underlying book linked to this recording: Old Wives' Tale. Recording-specific abridgements, added material or adaptation changes have not been verified.
The book is divided into four parts. The first section, "Mrs Baines", details the adolescence of both Sophia and Constance, and their life in their father's shop and house (a combined property) in Bursley, a lightly dramatised version of Burslem. The father is ill and bedridden, and the main adult in their life is Mrs Baines, their mother.
By the end of the first book, the more adventurous and frivolous sister, Sophia (whose name reflects her sophistication, as opposed to the constant Constance), escapes Bursley to London and elopes with the travelling salesman, Gerald Scales, against her family’s wishes. Sophia and her husband alight to Paris and she leaves her family behind, ashamed that the money she used to find her freedom was stolen from her wealthy aunt. Constance meanwhile becomes engaged to Mr. Samuel Povey, who works in the shop.
The second part, "Constance", details the life of Constance from that point forward up until the time she is reunited with her sister in old age. Her life, although outwardly prosaic, is nevertheless filled with personal incident, including the birth of her son, Cyril; the execution of her brother-in-law, Daniel Povey, who had accidentally killed his alcoholic wife; and the subsequent death of her husband, Samuel, whose health fell into rapid disrepair after his brother’s conviction; and her concerns about the character and behaviour of her son, who nevertheless performs well enough at school to win a competitive and coveted scholarship, which takes him away from home.
The third part, "Sophia", carries forward the story of what happened to Sophia after her elopement. For a time, the couple live off her husband's £12,000 inheritance, but Gerald irresponsibly squanders the sum over a couple of years, then runs off. Abandoned by her husband in Paris, Sophia shrewdly survives the Siege of Paris and the Paris Commune using a small sum of money she stole from Gerald to run a boarding house. She eventually becomes the reputable owner of a successful pension.
The final part, "What Life Is", details how the two sisters are eventually reunited and reflects upon how their lives and fates, despite the vast difference in their demeanor, end up in the same town that had connected them from birth, even as the very character of the town changes underneath them. Sophia returns to England and the house of her childhood, where Constance has never left. The last part follows both sisters until their deaths, with Constance’s death coming after she mustered her last physical strength to vote against the federation of Bursley and the Five Towns into a combined city, with deleterious effects on Bursley’s aged city center. The vote fails, a seeming victory for Constance, who passes away. After her death, a loophole is discovered that invalidates the vote, and Bursley is federated with its neighboring cities.
The book is divided into four parts. The first section, "Mrs Baines", details the adolescence of both Sophia and Constance, and their life in their father's shop and house (a combined property) in Bursley, a lightly dramatised version of Burslem. The father is ill and bedridden, and the main adult in their life is Mrs Baines, their mother.
By the end of the first book, the more adventurous and frivolous sister, Sophia (whose name reflects her sophistication, as opposed to the constant Constance), escapes Bursley to London and elopes with the travelling salesman, Gerald Scales, against her family’s wishes. Sophia and her husband alight to Paris and she leaves her family behind, ashamed that the money she used to find her freedom was stolen from her wealthy aunt. Constance meanwhile becomes engaged to Mr. Samuel Povey, who works in the shop.
The second part, "Constance", details the life of Constance from that point forward up until the time she is reunited with her sister in old age. Her life, although outwardly prosaic, is nevertheless filled with personal incident, including the birth of her son, Cyril; the execution of her brother-in-law, Daniel Povey, who had accidentally killed his alcoholic wife; and the subsequent death of her husband, Samuel, whose health fell into rapid disrepair after his brother’s conviction; and her concerns about the character and behaviour of her son, who nevertheless performs well enough at school to win a competitive and coveted scholarship, which takes him away from home.
The third part, "Sophia", carries forward the story of what happened to Sophia after her elopement. For a time, the couple live off her husband's £12,000 inheritance, but Gerald irresponsibly squanders the sum over a couple of years, then runs off. Abandoned by her husband in Paris, Sophia shrewdly survives the Siege of Paris and the Paris Commune using a small sum of money she stole from Gerald to run a boarding house. She eventually becomes the reputable owner of a successful pension.
The final part, "What Life Is", details how the two sisters are eventually reunited and reflects upon how their lives and fates, despite the vast difference in their demeanor, end up in the same town that had connected them from birth, even as the very character of the town changes underneath them. Sophia returns to England and the house of her childhood, where Constance has never left. The last part follows both sisters until their deaths, with Constance’s death coming after she mustered her last physical strength to vote against the federation of Bursley and the Five Towns into a combined city, with deleterious effects on Bursley’s aged city center. The vote fails, a seeming victory for Constance, who passes away. After her death, a loophole is discovered that invalidates the vote, and Bursley is federated with its neighboring cities.
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Underlying book identified by the catalog’s explicit book_slug relation. Exact source annotation 20404. Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, The Old Wives' Tale. HTML and reference formatting removed; headings adjusted. · Content license