The Cloister and the Hearth

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The book was far too long, and I wished there was more about the Pilgrimage, but what a trip! I think I may have to actually read it next time, so I can spoon all those fragrant, steaming chunks of language manually into my brain. Mercy! What's this? A gibbet! and ugh, two skeletons thereon! Oh Denys, what a sorry sight to woo by!" "Nay, said Denys, "a comfortable sight; for every rogue i' the air there is one the less a-foot."

Opening Chapter 1: Not a day passes over the earth, but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows. Of these obscure heroes, philosophers, and martyrs, the greater part will never be known till that hour, when many that are great shall be small, and the small great; but of others the world's knowledge may be said to sleep: their lives and characters lie hidden from nations in the annals that record them. The general reader cannot feel them, they are presented so curtly and coldly: they are not like breathing stories appealing to his heart, but little historic hail-stones striking him but to glance off his bosom: nor can he understand them; for epitomes are not narratives, as skeletons are not human figures.

CHAPTER XXXVII

If fiction is to be believed, there were soldiers and knights regularly roaming the country aimlessly on some pointless and digressive quest. Some were brave, some were evil, some were comical, some were weak – and there were very few of any other kind. These knights were always defending damsels, getting into skirmishes or being drawn into battles. being on the road with Gerard. I love a good Chaucerian journey with changing travelling companions, dangers and tales shared between the characters. I was surprised to come to the end of the book and find that this story is a very “supposed” account of two people who actually lived. This is a very Catholic story, but at the same time it takes place on the eve of the Reformation and Gerard has his own opinions on doctrinal issues. In actuality, it is the author's agenda that shows through in the end. I particularly appreciated his making the case for community to help overcome one's temptations, rather than isolation.

The Cloister and the Hearth is certainly erudite, perhaps too much so. Reade makes the error that has become common in writers of the last few decades who wish to be taken seriously. He constantly makes a display of his factual knowledge of every aspect of medieval life, with the result that the story frequently grinds to a halt while we can hear some arid discussion about art or clerical disputes.

by Charles Reade

The writing style was a challenge but one that brought deep engagement and attention from my side. I was so well gripped in the story that it didn’t even matter that some words were not found in the translation application, so I had to go by guessing and interpreting according to my taste, mood and opportunity. I think I was right, in most cases though 😂 Reade’s writing almost choked me with his clear cut, edgy irony and satire. Well, that’s poor fool me for being an unlearned reader ;) so I thank him so much more and even for knowing my own’s frailty and absurdity…O my, novice of novices! The Cloister and the Hearth" is Charles Reade's greatest work—and, I believe, the greatest historical novel in the language… there is portrayed so vigorous, lifelike, and truthful a picture of a time long gone by, and differing in almost every particular from own, that the world has never seen its like. To me it is a picture of the past more faithful than anything in the works of Scott. [4] This is the reason why writers as diverse as Shakespeare, Charlotte Bronte, Herman Hesse and Henrik Ibsen usually come down on the side of seeking joy from the material comforts of this life rather than losing oneself in the abstractions of religion, book-learning or being an artist. The story is about two lovers, Gerard Eliassoen and Margaret Brandt. Gerard is training to be a monk, but he soon becomes enamoured by Margaret, the daughter of a herbalist. Faced with serious opposition that leads to his arrest, Gerard decides to flee the country and to meet with Margaret in Italy.

past the middle of the fifteenth century; Louis XI was sovereign of France; Edward IV was wrongful king of England; and Philip "the Good," having by force and cunning dispossessed his cousin Jacqueline, and broken her heart, reigned undisturbed this many years in Holland, where our tale begins. NOV 2014 - I must admit I was torn about how to rate this book. Initially, I felt certain it was 5 stars. Then in the middle and in other places, we got bogged down with the novels-within-novels, the contrivances, and the theological dissertations. That put the book at a good, solid 3. Well, having completed the reading (and crying lots of tears at the ending), I rewarded The Cloister and The Hearth 5 stars. This pads out the book at the expense of any pacing, but perhaps this is as well, as there is not a lot of story to begin with. It is hard not to feel frustrated that the two lovers seem to spend decades before meeting up when a journey across Europe should not have taken more than a few months. This is achieved by the piling up of unlikely events designed to detain or deter Gerard from completing his travels. I came across this book on Bettie's feed years ago, but the size of the thing was daunting. I was scared to start. It sat in my e-reader for years, gathering virtual dust. Thankfully, Tom Denholm (who has a lovely voice and even reads all the Dutch and French bits perfectly) rescued it from oblivion by recording it for Librivox. It must have taken me a month to listen to the whole book, and it's so big I hardly know where to start, so I'll be brief - unlike the book. (If only I could review in Haiku, that would be funny - medieval haiku, though? Maybe not.) Secondly, I was profoundly intrigued by the mediaeval setting of the story. I had myself travelled so far behind that it felt strange at some point, I got that feeling that I am part of that long past age too. It looks that this remarkably lengthy chronicle starts some time past the middle of the 15th century, in Holland, and it is full of old, rather strange words fortunately translation applications were a great assistant to me during this period, and it offers a great mass of intolerable Latin really, don’t take me seriously, in fact I love Latin! 😂The following is an incomplete list of words that I looked up during my reading of The Cloister and the Hearth: However, after finishing the book, I felt I had a little better understanding of the different medieval civilizations of Europe—France, Germany, Italy, Holland. I read strange and unusual vocabulary words. And best of all I felt the satisfaction of finishing something hard. There were always priests, monks and other clergy to be found, and they were either ascetic or corrupt – rarely anything inbetween. Women could be lewd, shrewish, strong-minded or virginal, but essentially dependent on their menfolk. Taverns and prostitutes were a-plenty. Aristocrats were noble or dishonest, not much else. Poor people were subservient and loyal. In "The Decay of Lying," Oscar Wilde praised the novel as Reade's "one beautiful book", after which he "wasted the rest of his life in a foolish attempt to be modern." [5]. Conversely, George Orwell wrote, "Since Charles Reade's books are published in cheap editions one can assume that he still has his following, but it is unusual to meet anyone who has voluntarily read him. In most people his name seems to evoke, at most, a vague memory of 'doing' The Cloister and the Hearth as a school holiday task," going on to write, "Reade wrote several dull books, and The Cloister and the Hearth is one of them," after which he praised his modern productions Foul Play, Hard Cash, and It Is Never Too Late to Mend. [6] Screen adaptation [ edit ]

Based on a few lines by the humanist Erasmus about the life of his parents, the novel began as a serial in Once a Week magazine in 1859 under the title " A Good Fight", but when Reade disagreed with the proprietors of the magazine over some of the subject matter (principally the unmarried pregnancy of the heroine), he 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. THERE IS AN ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF THIS TITLE WITH LINKED TABLE OF CONTENTS WHICH MAY VIEWED AT EBOOKIt is said that speech is the familiar vent of human thoughts, but Life is an intermittent fever, and there are emotions so simple and overpowering that they rush out not in words, but eloquent sounds. In the longer journey of it, there are days that come by with passions and perils, by fits and starts, and as it were, in clusters. And yes, I would candidly confess, this novel also made me sob single-mindedly. It is indeed a glorious book, it has all, all in all together, and especially vivid unforgettable adventures, marvellous occurrences, that can hardly be ever dismissed from human’s fancy :) I am surely one of his greatest fans now! One reason the lovers are kept apart is perhaps that it is hard to imagine Gerard and Margaret living any normal life. Just as I cannot imagine Romeo and Juliet arguing over a smelly latrine, so I cannot picture Gerard and Margaret debating what colour to paint their spare room. These are idealised characters, and one whiff of reality would bring about their deaths.