Charles Reade Popular Books
Charles Reade Biography & Facts
Charles Reade (8 June 1814 – 11 April 1884) was a British novelist and dramatist, best known for The Cloister and the Hearth. Life Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire, to John Reade and Anne Marie Scott-Waring, and had at least four brothers. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, taking his B.A. in 1835, and became a fellow of his college. He was subsequently dean of arts and vice-president, taking his degree of D.C.L. in 1847. His name was entered at Lincoln's Inn in 1836; he was elected Vinerian Fellow in 1842, and was called to the bar in 1843. He kept his fellowship at Magdalen all his life but, after taking his degree, he spent most of his time in London. William Winwood Reade, the influential historian, was his nephew. Writings Reade began his literary career as a dramatist, and he chose to have "dramatist" stand first in the list of his occupations on his tombstone. As an author, he always had an eye to stage effect in scenes and situations as well as in dialogue. His first comedy, The Ladies' Battle, appeared at the Olympic Theatre in May 1851. It was followed by Angela (1851), A Village Tale (1852), The Lost Husband (1852), and Gold (1853). But Reade's reputation was made by the two-act comedy, Masks and Faces, in which he collaborated with Tom Taylor. It was produced in November 1852, and later was expanded into three acts. By the advice of the actress, Laura Seymour, he turned the play into a prose story which appeared in 1853 as Peg Woffington. The same year he wrote Christie Johnstone, a close study of Scottish fisher folk. In 1854 he produced, in conjunction with Tom Taylor, Two Loves and a Life, and The King's Rival, and, unaided, The Courier of Lyons (well known under its later title, The Lyons Mail) and his adaptation of Tobias Smollett's Peregrine Pickle. In the next year appeared Art (1855), afterwards known as Nance Oldfield. He made his name as a novelist in 1856, when he published It Is Never Too Late to Mend, a novel written to reform abuses in prison discipline and the treatment of criminals. The truth of some details was challenged, and Reade defended himself vigorously. Five more novels followed in quick succession: The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth (1857), White Lies (1857), Jack of all Trades (1858), The Autobiography of a Thief (1858), and Love Me Little, Love Me Long (1859). White Lies started as a translation of Auguste Maquet's play Le Château de Grantier. After managers declined the manuscript, Reade adapted the story, weaving it into a novel which was serialised in The London Journal and published in three volumes the same year. He produced an adaptation of this on stage as The Double Marriage in 1867. In 1861 Reade published what would become his most famous work, based on a few lines by the medieval humanist Erasmus about the life of his parents. The novel began life as a serial in Once a Week in 1859 under the title "A Good Fight", but when Reade disagreed with the proprietors of the magazine over some of the contentious subject matter (principally the unmarried pregnancy of the heroine), he abruptly curtailed the serialisation with a false happy ending. Reade continued to work on the novel and published it in 1861, thoroughly revised and extended, as The Cloister and the Hearth. It became recognised as one of the most successful historical novels. Returning from the 15th century to contemporary English life, he next produced Hard Cash (originally published as Very Hard Cash) (1863), in which he highlighted the abuses of private lunatic asylums. Three more such novels followed: Foul Play (1869), in which he exposed the iniquities of ship-knackers, and paved the way for the labours of Samuel Plimsoll; Put Yourself in His Place (1870), in which he dealt with trade unions; and A Woman-Hater (1877), in which he continued his commentary on trade unions while also tackling the topic of women doctors. The Wandering Heir (1875), of which he also wrote a version for the stage, was suggested by the Tichborne Case. Reade also published three elaborate studies of character: Griffith Gaunt (1866), A Terrible Temptation (1871), A Simpleton (1873). He rated the first of these as his best novel. At intervals throughout his literary career, he sought to gratify his dramatic ambition, hiring a theatre and engaging a company for the production of his plays. An example of his persistence was seen in the case of Foul Play. He wrote this in 1869 in combination with Dion Boucicault with a view to stage adaptation. The play was more or less a failure; but he produced another version alone in 1877, under the title of A Scuttled Ship, which was a notable failure. His greatest success as a dramatist attended his last attempt—Drink—an adaptation of Émile Zola's L'Assommoir, produced in 1879, and made into the film Drink in 1917. In that year his friend Laura Seymour, who might have been his mistress and had kept house for him since 1854, died. Reade's health failed from that time. On his death, he left behind him a completed novel, A Perilous Secret, which showed he was still skilled in the arts of weaving a complicated plot and devising thrilling situations. Reade was an amateur of the violin, and among his works is an essay on Cremona violins with the title, "A Lost Art Revived." Reade is buried alongside Laura Seymour, in the churchyard of St. Mary's Church, Willesden, in north-west London. Reade subtitled a number of his novels "A matter-of-fact romance"; this referred to his practice of basing his novels largely on newspaper cuttings, which he began collecting for this purpose in 1848. He also conducted his own research, observing prisons personally, for example, as well as borrowing at times heavily from other novelists' works. He admitted the public freely to the secrets of his method of composition: he spoke about his method in his prefaces, he introduced himself into one of his novels, as Dr Rolfe in A Terrible Temptation, and in his will, he left his workshop and his accumulation of materials open for inspection for two years after his death. The collection was extensive and well-organized, and he had planned to use it as a basis for an unrealized work in "the wisdom and folly of nations," dealing with social, political and domestic details. Reade's novels were popular, and he was among England's highest-paid novelists. However, many libraries refused to carry his works on the grounds that they were indecent. Reputation Reade fell out of fashion by the turn of the century—"it is unusual to meet anyone who has voluntarily read him," wrote George Orwell in an essay on Reade—but during the 19th century Reade was one of Britain's most popular novelists. He was not highly regarded by critics. The following assessment by Justin McCarthy, writing in 1872, is typical: A strong, healthy air of honest and high purpose breathes through nearly all the stories. An utter absence of cant, affectation, and sham distinguishes them.... Discover the Charles Reade popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Charles Reade books.
Best Seller Charles Reade Books of 2024
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What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through the Fire
Charles Bukowski“The Walt Whitman of Los Angeles.”Joyce Carol Oates, bestselling author“He brought everybody down to earth, even the angels.”Leonard Cohen, songwriterWhat Matters Most Is How Well ...
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Sacred Parenting
Gary ThomasParenting is a school for spiritual formationand our children are our teachers. The journey of caring for, rearing, training, and loving our children will profoundly alter us forev...
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Cuando el enemigo ataca
Charles F. StanleyEn algún momento de su vida, todos los cristianos nos enfrentaremos a un ataque satánico: un asalto enérgico del diablo con el propósito de dañar nuestro espíritu, alma o cuerpo. D...
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Pathways to His Presence
Charles F. StanleyDiscover God's Blessings for Your LifeEven more appealing than the charm of a trail through the forest, the serenity of a stroll by a river, or the inspiration of climbing a mounta...
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40 oraciones sencillas que traen paz y descanso
Max LucadoCuando el caos de nuestras vidas cotidianas se vuelve abrumador, ¿dónde podemos acudir en busca de paz y descanso? El autor de best sellers, Max Lucado, señala a la Fuent...
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Time for School, Charlie Brown
Charles M. SchulzIt’s a brandnew school year for Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang in this Level 2 ReadytoRead!It’s almost time for the first day of school, but Charlie Brown can’t sto...
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Revenge
Tom BowerThis instant #1 internationally bestselling “explosive tellall” (Daily Express, London) reveals the inside story about Meghan Markle’s journey from minor actress and attempted acti...
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Delphi Complete Works of Charles Reade
Charles ReadeAlthough famed for his meticulously researched medieval masterpiece 'The Cloister and the Hearth', Charles Reade also penned some of the Victorian era’s most gripping sensation nov...
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Relationships
Les and Leslie ParrottToday more than ever, people long for connection. In an age marked by isolation and loneliness, they measure riches in terms of belonging, acceptance, vulnerability, honesty, close...
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The Record Keeper
Charles Martin“Because you’re worth rescue.” The unrelenting third installment in the Murphy Shepherd series from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin. Murphy She...
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Eternal Security
Charles F. StanleyDo you ever find yourself wondering . . . Is it actually possible to know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I am going to heaven? If you say that my salvation is "eternally secur...
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Essential Bukowski
Charles BukowskiEdited by Abel Debritto, the definitive collection of poems from an influential writer whose transgressive legacy and raw, funny, and acutely observant writing has left an enduring...
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Music of the Ghosts
Vaddey RatnerThis “novel of extraordinary humanity” (Madeleine Thien, author of Do Not Say We Have Nothing) from New York Times bestselling author Vaddey Ratner reveals “the endless ways that f...
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The Truth About Forgiveness
John F. MacArthur"The greatest measuring rod of love in the life of a Christian may be forgiveness, because God showed His love to us in terms of forgiveness." John MacArthurDoes anyone really want...
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The Letter Keeper
Charles MartinCombining heartwrenching emotion with edgeofyourseat tension, New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin explores the true power of sacrificial love. Murphy Sh...
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Not Impossible
Mick EbelingWhat if you discovered by accident that you could change the world? Mick Ebelinga film producer by trade, optimist by natureset out to perform a simple act of kindness that quickly...
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Tidelands
Philippa GregoryThis New York Times bestseller from “one of the great storytellers of our time” (San Francisco Book Review) turns from the glamour of the royal courts to tell the story of an ordin...
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30 Life Principles
Charles F. StanleyCharles Stanley lays out 30 Life Principles that can help you become more like Christ every day. This is accomplished through the power of His Holy Spirit, and through your own dil...
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Post Office
Charles BukowskiCharles Bukowski’s classic roman à clef, Post Office, captures the despair, drudgery, and happy dissolution of his alter ego, Henry Chinaski, as he enters middle age.Post Office is...
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On Writing
Charles BukowskiSharp and moving reflections and ruminations on the artistry and craft of writing from one of our most iconoclastic, riveting, and celebrated masters.Charles Bukowski’s stories, po...
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Facing Your Giants Study Guide
Max LucadoEveryone has a "Goliath"a problem so overwhelming it is seemingly gigantesque in its magnitude. Facing Your Giants Study Guide has the answers that believers need in order to face ...
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When the Enemy Strikes
Charles F. StanleyYour enemy is strong. The battle is real. Prepare for victory.Fear, discouragement, loneliness, anger, temptation. These struggles are common to every human. Yet not all circumstan...
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NIV, Lucado Encouraging Word Bible
Max Lucado & Thomas NelsonExpand your understanding of Scripture and be encouraged on your spiritual journey with bestselling Christian author Pastor Max Lucado.The Lucado Encouraging Word Bible is an ...
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On Love
Charles BukowskiA raw and tender poetry collection that captures the dirty old man of American letters at his fiercest and most vulnerable, on a subject that hits home with all of us.Charles Bukow...
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The Long Hard Road Out of Hell
Marilyn Manson & Neil StraussThe bestselling autobiography of America’s most controversial celebrity icon, Marilyn Manson (with a bonus chapter not in the hardcover).In his twentynine years, rock idol Manson h...
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Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World
Dr. David Jeremiah“Let not your heart be troubled . . .”Confidence can be hard to come by these days. People are losing their jobs, their houses, and their life savings at an unprecedented rate...
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Hollywood
Charles BukowskiFrom iconic tortured artist/everyman Charles Bukowski, Hollywood is the fictionalization of his experience adapting his novel Barfly into a movie by the same name.Henry Chinaski, B...
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The Gathering Storm
R. Albert Mohler Jr.The president of Southern Seminary reveals how secularism has infiltrated every aspect of society and how Christians, equipped with the gospel of Jesus Christ, can meet it head on ...
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Great Expectations
Charles DickensIntroduction by John Irving Nominated as one of America’s bestloved novels by PBS’s The Great American ReadPip, a poor orphan being raised by a cruel sister, does not ha...
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Pretty Boy Floyd
Larry McMurtryThe time is 1925. The place, St. Louis, Missouri. Charley Floyd, a goodlooking, sweetsmiling country boy from Oklahoma, is about to rob his first armored car.Written by Pulitzer Pr...
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Dark Tides
Philippa Gregory#1 New York Times bestselling author of Tidelandsthe “searing portrait of a woman that resonates across the ages” (People)returns with an evocative historical novel tracking the ri...
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Oliver Twist
Charles Dickens, Lester M. Schulman & Jean ZallingerOliver Twist is a desperate orphan. A gang of thieves takes him in and teaches him to steal, but then he is caught. What will become of poor Oliver Twist? Kids can find out in t...
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Charles Dickens as a Reader
Charles Foster KentKent scans the works that influenced and shaped Dickens thought processes throughout his life. Categorically concentrating on one side of his personality, this work enables the rea...
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The Thirteenth Tale
Diane SetterfieldInstant #1 New York Times bestseller“Readers will feel the magnetic pull of this paean to words, books and the magical power of story.”People“Eerie and fascinating.”USA TODAYSometi...
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The Dark Vineyard
Martin WalkerThe second installment in the delightful, internationally acclaimed series featuring Bruno, Chief of Police: When a bevy of winemakers descend on SaintDenis the idyllic t...
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Virgin Earth
Philippa GregoryIn this enthralling, freestanding sequel to Earthly Joys, New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory combines a wealth of gardening knowledge with a haunting love story tha...
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Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit
Charles F. StanleyIs the third Person of the Trinity a distant mystery, a vague cosmic force?Many believers acknowledge Him as a component of faith?but perhaps not as a reality in their daily spirit...
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The Water Keeper
Charles MartinA riveting story of heroism, heartache, and the power of love to heal all wounds by New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin.Murphy Shepherd is a man with many se...
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Great Expectations
Charles DickensIntroduction by George Bernard Shaw Nominated as one of America’s bestloved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Pip, a poor orphan being raised by a cruel sister, do...
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Think, Act, Be Like Jesus
Randy FrazeeThe Bible teaches that the goal of the Christian life is to become like Jesusfor our own personal growth and for the sake of others. Every believer needs to ask three big questions...