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The Charles Reade Library

The Charles Reade Library

Written by: Charles Reade
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Welcome, Reader. Here you shall find no abridgement, no timid excerpt, no mutilated chapter smoothed for idle ears. Here the tale stands whole. The Charles Reade Library restores to the living voice the full vigour of those romances in which wrong is confronted, justice pursued, and the human heart tried as by fire. Prisons shall clang, cloisters shall echo, hearth-fires shall glow, and the oppressed shall speak. For what is a novel, if not a protest against falsehood, a plea for mercy, a trumpet against cruelty? And what is reading, if not the communion of earnest minds across the gulf of years?

Come then. Sit close. The page is opened. The truth, though resisted, shall be heard.Public domain Daily
Episodes
  • The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 51

    The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 51
    Aug 13 2026
    In which Margaret finds a true friend and receives grievous news concerning Gerard, while the complex tensions among old acquaintances and family members reveal themselves in a web of bitterness and reconciliation. Denys endeavours with good humour and persistence to mediate these strained relations, even as Margaret’s spirits fluctuate and a mysterious letter arrives that stirs her deeply.
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    8 mins
  • The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 50

    The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 50
    Aug 12 2026
    In which the industrious Margaret Brandt, faced with her father’s debilitating stroke and the loss of his medical practice, assumes the mantle of healer and struggles against legal censure and social scorn to provide for her household. Amidst hardship and malice, she brings solace to the sick, wins the confidence of a sceptical mayor concerning his ailing daughter, and finds unexpected support in a loyal friend who stands against her detractors.
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    48 mins
  • The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 49

    The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 49
    Aug 11 2026
    In which Margaret Brandt, burdened by a secret that threatens her honour and peace, wrestles with the harsh judgments of her neighbours and the solitude of her concealed condition, seeking solace and courage in her aged father's understanding. As she resolves to flee her familiar haunts for refuge elsewhere, a tender yet uneasy confidance ensues between the two, casting a quiet shadow of suspense upon their departure.
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    16 mins
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