A reading from the novel by Arnold Bennett , arranged for broadcasting by E. G. Twitchett , and read by Hugh Miller
The theme of 'The Old Wives' Tale' had been in Arnold Bennett 's mind for several years before he settled down to write it, in his usual super-methodical way, in the Forest of Fontainebleau in the years 1907 and 1908. Before he started he estimated that its length would be roughly 200,000 words, and it proved to be exactly that. Moreover, these 200,000 words were all directly written by hand in a beautiful cursive script as an exercise in an art in which the author had lately interested himself; and as there were amazingly few corrections, the manuscript is one of the most remarkable ever produced.
Published in 1908, this richly-detailed and dispassionate account of the fortunes from girlhood to death of two women of an English Midland town attracted little attention at first, but has since been recognised as one of the outstanding English novels of the century.
It is eminently suitable for reading aloud. As with 'Portrait of Clare', there will be serial readings at the rate of two a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
(From Midland)