George Sturt (1863-1927), who also wrote under the pseudonym George Bourne, was a highly prominent writer on the traditions of rural life and the condition of the English labouring classes. Originally published in 1927, shortly after Sturt's death, this volume provides a memoir of his early experiences in and around Farnham, Surrey. It is written in a characteristically informal, personal style, with numerous beautifully rendered observations, and is also notable for containing an introduction by Arnold Bennett. This is a highly readable book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in Sturt's life and autobiographical writing in general.

Introduction by Anita Miller. This novel about the divergent lives of two sisters which spans the Victorian and Edwardian periods is a 20th-century classic. Recently included in the list of the greatest 20th-century novels.

Chapters include, but not limited to: The Daily Miracle - The Desire to Exceed One's Program - Precautions before Beginning - The Cause of the Trouble - Tennis & the Immortal Soul - Remember Human Nature - Controlling the Mind - The Reflective Mood - Interest in the Arts - Nothing in Life Is Humdrum - Serious Reading - Dangers to Avoid

First published in 1908, The Old Wives' Tale affirms the integrity of ordinary lives as it tells the story of the Baines sisters--shy, retiring Constance and defiant, romantic Sophia--over the course of nearly half a century. Bennett traces the sisters' lives from childhood in their father's drapery shop in provincial Bursley, England, during the mid-Victorian era, through their married lives, to the modern industrial age, when they are reunited as old women. The setting moves from the Five Towns of Staffordshire to exotic and cosmopolitan Paris, while the action moves from the subdued domestic routine of the Baines household to the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.