Vivid and colorful Renaissance OdysseyA century ago, if you asked an educated reader to name the greatest works of literature in the English language, chances are The Cloister and the Hearth would have made the shortlist. This novel by English author Charles Reade, published in 1861, enjoyed high regard in the Victorian Era. In his reading memoir Through the Magic Door, Arthur Conan Doyle named The Cloister and the Hearth as his favorite novel. Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Wolfe, and Walter Besant also highly praised the novel as one of the greatest works of English literature.
The story takes place in the mid-15th century. Gerard Eliassoen is one of nine children born to a shopkeeping couple in the town of Tergou. Gerard’s parents destine him to become a member of the clergy, which is fine by him because he loves reading and writing. He enters his religious studies as a novice and works his way up to the rank of exorcist. He also becomes a scribe with a notable talent for calligraphy and illuminating manuscripts. On the verge of being ordained into the priesthood, however, Gerard meets and falls in love with a young woman, Margaret Brandt. He wants to withdraw from the clergy and marry her, but his parents forbid it. To prevent an elopement, his father, having every legal right to do so, sends the local authorities to arrest and imprison Gerard, who eludes his pursuers and flees the Netherlands. This forces a separation between the two young lovers, but they steadfastly retain hope of being united in the future.
At the time The Cloister and the Hearth was published, Sir Walter Scott was considered the gold standard of English novelists. To the 21st century reader, however, Scott’s historical novels aren’t entirely user-friendly. He uses a lot of antiquated language and clunky syntax, and he takes it for granted that his readers know the entire history of Britain and its monarchy by heart. The Cloister and the Hearth, on the other hand, delivers all the good aspects of a Scott historical epic without any of its faults. You don’t need to know anything about European history to enjoy this book. Only a few real-life historical characters are mentioned, and whatever details you need to know are accessibly provided by Reade. What I really like about this Renaissance novel is that it’s not about kings or queens or wealthy aristocrats. It’s about plain working people: artisans, musicians, parsons, shopkeepers, soldiers, farmers, and so on. This grounded perspective really brings this bygone world to life for the reader.
Reade is a superb master of the English language. His prose is lively and smooth-flowing. The writing always sounds as if its appropriate to the period but without any archaic words to stumble over. The dialogue in this book is the best faux-medieval speech I’ve ever read. It really puts you in the mindset of these characters and the world they live in. Any author of European historical novels or Dungeons & Dragons-genre lit could learn a lot from reading Reade’s expertly crafted phrasings. On the downside, this book is much longer than it needs to be. I’m not against long books if the length is necessary. Alexander Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, for example, are both very long novels, but each scene is integral to the story. Reade, however, has put a lot of filler in the 100 chapters of The Cloister and the Hearth. There are some lengthy digressions that don’t really forward the plot at all, and the ending is so needlessly drawn out. Plotting may not be Reade’s strong suit, but with this book it’s the atmosphere that really gives you your money’s worth.
Like many a book of English literature from this time, the novel’s main message is one of Christian piety. Given that the main character is a member of the clergy, religious matters figure into this narrative more than most. Gerard and Margaret also draw obvious parallels to Odysseus and Penelope of The Odyssey, embodying the virtues of fidelity and devotion. Regardless of the morals this novel imparts, however, it’s just an enjoyable escape into another time with likable and memorable characters. It may not make many all-time top ten lists these days, but’s it’s still worth a read for those who like classic literature.
Foregone conclusions
The Knightsbridge Mystery, a novel by English author Charles Reade, was originally published in 1882. The story takes place at a country inn called The Swan, located on Knightsbridge Green, which at that time was outside the city of London. Reade introduces us to the regulars who reside at this establishment and involves us in the routine of their everyday activities and relations. The peace and comfort of this rural retreat is shattered when one of the guests is murdered, presumably for his gold. Evidence points to a neighborhood drunkard, who is apprehended, tried, and sentenced to death. The inspector on the case, however, is not entirely convinced of the convicted man’s guilt.
The main problem with The Knightsbridge Mystery is that it is no mystery. Even before the crime is committed, Reade has already told you the identity of the killer, his motive, and much of his modus operandi. All that’s left for the reader to do is wait for the murderer to get caught. In that sense, The Knightsbridge Mystery bears less resemblance to most Victorian detective fiction in the Sherlock Holmes vein than it does to today’s cinematic crime stories, which often tell the detective’s and the criminal’s stories in parallel, the audience being expected to sympathize with both parties. In such villainless tales, the suspense arises less from the solving of the crime than from the emotional drama of the characters’ lives. In The Knightsbridge Mystery, however, Reade delivers the narrative in such a deadpan fashion that the emotional roller coaster of murder, inquest, and capital punishment is surprisingly flat and mundane.
The overall effect left behind by The Knightsbridge Mystery is one of frustration. Reade has crafted a complex crime story admirable for its legal and psychological authenticity. One can’t help thinking, however, that if it had really been treated like a mystery, with some questions left unanswered throughout, it would have been a lot more entertaining. When all is said and done, this book is a decent read but nothing to get excited about. Its brevity keeps it from being a waste of time. It leaves the reader with a suspicion that Reade may have the potential for great writing, and a hope that that potential is realized in some of his other works.
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Mostly familiar formulae and stale humor
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| Amelia B. Edwards |
The ten-volume Stories by English Authors series was published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1896. It follows the same model as the 1884 series Stories by American Authors and the 1898 series Stories by Foreign Authors. Each book is a showcase of 19th century fiction containing from five to seven short stories or novellas. The volumes in the English series are not numbered, but are subtitled according to the setting of the stories. This volume is subtitled England, for example, because all the stories take place in that country. Other volumes include London, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Africa, the Orient, and The Sea. While I have finished reading the American and Foreign series in their entirety, this is the first volume I have read from the English series.
The collection kicks off to an inauspicious start with the initial entry by Charles Reade, entitled “The Box Tunnel.” A young man bets his friend that he can kiss a pretty woman on the train. Following this terrible start (sexual assault must have been funnier a century ago), the tale proceeds in predictable directions. The whole thing could be told in four sentences; the rest is all flowery rhetoric and self-indulgent slang. Reade aims for clever, but ends up with cloyingly cutesy.
Cuteness is a plague that afflicts many of the selections included here. They go through the motions of tried-and-true story formulas, but with a tongue-in-cheek approach that suggests you’re being set up for a zinger of a surprise ending. More often than not, however, the climax fails to zing or surprise. Anthony Hope’s “The Philosopher in the Apple Orchard” is a predictable love story that positively crawls to its foregone conclusion. In “The Three Strangers,” author Thomas Hardy spends an inordinate amount of time heaping on the rural local color before coming to a finale that the reader saw coming a mile away. On the other hand, “Mr. Lismore and the Widow” is truly an excellent story for about 90% of its length. A young man who is on the verge of bankruptcy is approached with an offer of rescue by the aged widow of a man whose life he once saved. The two characters develope a fascinating relationship, but the story is ruined by its ending, which is anything but predictable because it’s totally ridiculous.
Despite household names like Hope, Hardy, and Collins, the honor of best story in the bunch goes to Amelia B. Edwards, whose “The Four-Fifteen Express” begins with a chance encounter between acquaintances on a train and evolves into a mystery story that would have made a good episode of The Twilight Zone. The remaining two entries are OK. “Minions of the Moon” by F. W. Robinson is a tale of highwaymen terrorizing the 18th-century English countryside. Angelo Lewis’s “The Wrong Black Bag” makes the most blatant attempt at comedy, and for the most part it surprisingly succeeds. It’s about a mild-mannered milquetoast who attempts to live it up while his wife’s away, but his adventure doesn’t quite work out as he planned.
Overall, the stories of this collection feel far too familiar to be compelling. The entry by Edwards is really the only selection that pleasantly surprises. Even with seven brief stories crammed into a relatively brief page count, they tend to feel long-winded, as simplistic story lines are fleshed out with all manner of gratuitous wordplay and antiquated humor. Whether or not this volume is indicative of the quality of the Stories by English Authors series as a whole remains to be seen.
Stories in this collection
The Box Tunnel by Charles Reade
Minions of the Moon by F. W. Robinson
The Four-Fifteen Express by Amelia B. Edwards
The Wrong Black Bag by Angelo Lewis
The Three Strangers by Thomas Hardy
Mr. Lismore and the Widow by Wilkie Collins
The Philosopher in the Apple Orchard by Anthony Hope
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