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Arnold Bennett - The Old Wives' TaleEpisodes

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  1. 15. Endings

    15/15Sophia visits her dying husband. But what will become of her - and her sister Constance?

  2. 14. Hotel Life

    14/15Sophia persuades a very reluctant Constance to holiday with her in a hotel in Buxton.

  3. 13. The Meeting

    13/15Constance and Sophia are re-united at last but Sophia soon feels stifled by Bursley

  4. 12. Frensham’s

    12/151895, Paris. Sophia is the successful proprietor of a smart hotel

  5. 11. The Proudest Mother

    11/151889, Bursley. Constance, now in her late 40s, lives for her 19-year-old son, Cyril.

  6. 10. The Siege

    10/151870, the Siege of Paris. Sophia establishes herself as a landlady

  7. 9. Justice

    9/15Campaigning for his imprisoned cousin, Constance worries about her husband Sam’s health

  8. 8. Crisis

    8/15In Paris, Gerald’s spent his inheritance and his marriage to Sophia is on the rocks

  9. 7. Crime

    7/15Constance and Sam, now married, receive a cryptic Christmas card from the exiled Sophia.

  10. 6. The Elopement

    6/15Sophia escapes to London with her lover, travelling salesman Gerald Scales.

  11. 5. The Defeat

    5/15Mrs Baines decides to put a stop to Sophia's affair with Gerald Scales

  12. 4. The Traveller

    4/15At New Year, salesman Gerald Scales arrives on the Baines' door step in the snow.

  13. 3. Elephant

    3/15Everyone rushes to see a dead elephant, but Sophia stays with her invalid father

  14. 2. A Battle

    2/151860s: when the Baines sisters leave school Sophia has ambitions beyond the family shop

  15. 1. The Tooth

    1/151860s: Sisters Sophia and Constance live above a thriving drapery in the Potteries