Introduction by John Wain. A few endnotes. Bennett [1867-1931] said he was inspired to write this historical novel when he saw an elderly lady in a cafe and wondered how her life had been lived and what she was like when she was young. The novel is about two very different sisters who grew up in mid-Victorian times in southern England, lived their separate lives, and reunited in old age. First published in 1908 to much acclaim, and pronounced by H. G. Wells to be "the finest long novel written in English and in the English style."  Penguin. 1986. Paper. USED. $4.00