The Charles Reade Library cover art

The Charles Reade Library

The Charles Reade Library

By: Charles Reade
Listen for free

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 16

    The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 16
    Jul 6 2026
    In which Martin Wittenhaagen is found in a puzzling posture with bow drawn, causing suspicion among his companions, who then gather by a fire only to be disturbed by shrieks from Margaret’s chamber. A fierce struggle ensues with Martin bound and immobilised, as the men anxiously anticipate the arrival of Jorian Ketel from the upper floor.
    Show More Show Less
    3 mins
  • The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 15

    The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 15
    Jul 5 2026
    In which the devoted Margaret cunningly conceals her beloved Gerard within a secret recess of an innocent-looking chest, only to discover with dreadful horror that her protective embrace has silenced him forever. Stricken with grief and frantic denial, she pleads with the lifeless form, her despair echoing into the still night and alerting those nearby to the tragic calamity.
    Show More Show Less
    6 mins
  • The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 14

    The Cloister and the Hearth Chapter 14
    Jul 4 2026
    In which a sudden and unwelcome search for Gerard Eliassoen turns a quiet household into a tense stage for suspicion and danger, as armed men ransack rooms with hopes of capture while a young woman pleads her innocence amidst the chaos. The scene closes on the uneasy retreat of the invaders, thwarted not by force but by dignity and heartfelt remonstrance.
    Show More Show Less
    12 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet