The Cloister and the Hearth; or, Maid, Wife, and Widow: A Matter-of-Fact Romance

331 pp. Green cloth, elaborate gilt decorations, gilt titles, top edge gilt. This edition includes a frontispiece of the author, photographic plates of Venetian architecture and historical illustrations, and an appreciation by Algernon Charles Swinburne. "The Cloister and The Hearth (1861) is a novel by the English author Charles Reade. Set in the 15th century, it relates the story revolving about the travels of a young scribe and illuminator, Gerard Eliassoen, through several European countries. Often describing the events, people and their practices in minute detail, its main theme is the struggle between man's obligations to family and to Church."