Cover of The Old Wives’ Tale

The Old Wives’ Tale

Arnold Bennett, 1908

British novelist, 1867–1931.

The Old Wives’ Tale is a 1908 novel by Arnold Bennett.

  • Critics' Darling

In family saga

On 2 of the 15 lists it was eligible for.

The Novel Index earns a small commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our rankings. More about how we earn.

At a glance

Author
Arnold Bennett
First published
1908
Length
624 pages (UK paperback)
Genre
Literary fiction, Family saga, Class and society, Feminist

Is The Old Wives’ Tale worth reading?

2 of the 15 best-of lists it could have made include it: 100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library) and The 100 greatest British novels (BBC Culture).

ListPlaceOriginal
100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library, 1998)No. 87See the list
The 100 greatest British novels (BBC Culture, 2015)No. 87See the list

Best edition of The Old Wives’ Tale

The edition we link to is the Penguin Classics paperback (2007), 624 pages.

Publisher
Penguin Classics (paperback, 2007)
Pages
624
ISBN
9780141442112

How critics and readers rate The Old Wives’ Tale

Critics rate it most highly: it earned 18% of the points available on critics' lists, against 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
18%
Prizes
Not eligible for any of these lists yet
Readers and booksellers
0%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Lists used on this page