Project Gutenberg 2004-05-01 Public domain in the USA. 173 Reade, Charles 1814 1884 A Perilous Secret Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team "A Perilous Secret" by Charles Reade is a novel written in the late 19th century that explores themes of mystery, family, and societal contrasts. The story centers on William Hope, a talented but down-on-his-luck father struggling to provide for his young daughter, Grace, after the death of his wife. As they navigate their difficult journey, their paths intertwine with those of Mary Bartley, a wealthy child who is also facing her own dire circumstances. The opening of the book introduces William Hope and his four-year-old daughter, Grace, who are traveling on foot after the recent death of William's wife. Despite his many talents, William is unable to find stable employment and is haunted by the fear of losing his only remaining joy, Grace, who begins to show signs of illness. Their journey leads them to encounter various adversities, including starvation and the search for work. In a twist of fate, William discovers coal on the land owned by Colonel Clifford, but is met with disdain from the wealthy landowner, who dismisses his claims. The chapter sets the stage for a deep exploration of the struggles of a poor man against the indifference of the upper class, foreshadowing the complex interactions between the two families that will unfold as the narrative progresses. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 81.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Fiction PR Text Category: Crime, Thrillers and Mystery Category: Novels Category: British Literature 646963 2025-07-05T14:53:32.938543 text/html 646944 646823 2024-11-05T17:46:24.762983 2023-10-06T05:36:13.524493 text/html text/html 308684 2025-07-05T14:53:41.432530 application/epub+zip 318087 2025-07-05T14:53:34.810553 application/epub+zip 318088 2025-07-05T14:53:33.665564 application/epub+zip 564841 2025-07-05T14:53:46.623479 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 520777 2025-07-05T14:53:40.663518 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 492853 2022-09-06T20:55:47.554111 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 576454 2025-07-05T14:53:32.316546 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 556758 2024-10-28T19:34:01 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16610 2025-07-05T14:53:46.749467 application/rdf+xml 13656 2025-07-05T14:53:34.150531 image/jpeg 3563 2025-07-05T14:53:33.906558 image/jpeg 303068 2025-07-05T14:53:32.985571 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia