Project Gutenberg 2006-02-15 Public domain in the USA. 445 Reade, Charles 1814 1884 The Cloister and the Hearth Subtitle: or, Maid, wife and widow: a matter-of-fact romance Subtitle: a tale of the middle ages There is an improved edition of this title, eBook #38895 A small portion of this tale appeared in Once a Week, July-September, 1859, under the title of "A Good Fight." Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cloister_and_the_Hearth Produced by Neil McLachlan and David Widger "The Cloister and the Hearth" by Charles Reade is a historical novel written during the mid-19th century. The story is set in the 15th century and revolves around the lives of ordinary yet valiant individuals, particularly focusing on the characters Elias, a cloth merchant, and his son Gerard, whose artistic aspirations and familial responsibilities lead them on a poignant journey through love, ambition, and societal challenges. At the start of the narrative, we are introduced to Elias and Catherine, a couple living in Tergou, who are anxiously trying to provide for their numerous children while facing the realities of their modest means. The opening chapters detail the family's struggles and the weight of their responsibilities, particularly as their eldest son, Richart, expresses a desire to leave home for a merchant's life, a decision that deeply affects his family. The story further introduces Gerard, the youngest son, who is drawn to art and determined to pursue his talent as an illuminator, resulting in a mix of familial loyalty and the pursuit of personal dreams. As the plot unfolds, themes of love, ambition, and the hardships of common life during the Renaissance begin to surface, setting the stage for a rich exploration of character and conflict. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 80.6 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Historical fiction Middle Ages -- Fiction Love stories Netherlands -- Fiction PR Text Historical Fiction Category: Historical Novels Category: Novels Category: British Literature 1873872 2025-07-01T09:16:22.690766 text/html 1956647 2019-08-08T08:25:54 text/html; charset=utf-8 750702 2025-07-01T09:16:40.661679 application/epub+zip 784680 2025-07-01T09:16:25.729722 application/epub+zip 784679 2025-07-01T09:16:24.021725 application/epub+zip 1310274 2025-07-01T09:16:52.837110 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1205578 2025-07-01T09:16:39.373628 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1163207 2022-09-01T10:41:43.625735 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1602354 2025-07-01T09:16:16.488744 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 1602273 2018-03-05T12:24:54 text/plain; charset=utf-8 18159 2025-07-01T09:16:52.983068 application/rdf+xml 13209 2025-07-01T09:16:24.576730 image/jpeg 3752 2025-07-01T09:16:24.298723 image/jpeg 727704 2025-07-01T09:16:22.823772 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