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The Charles Reade Library

The Charles Reade Library

By: Charles Reade
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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
Episodes
  • It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter LI

    It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter LI
    May 19 2026
    In which a travelling painter, upheld by his steadfast honesty and the gentle affection of a beloved, undertakes a long and solitary journey that leads him to nurse a sick friend back to health with patience and unexpected kindness. Along the way, providential encounters and heartfelt letters rekindle hope and offer a tender reminder of the rewards that virtue may bring.
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    15 mins
  • It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter LII, part 1

    It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter LII, part 1
    May 20 2026
    In which the steadfast Robinson nurses George through illness and amidst dwindling hopes and bleak prospects, they rediscover their friendship while contemplating the possibility of gold hidden in the unyielding Australian soil, their spirits entwined with dreams both fanciful and faintly hopeful. Meanwhile, a lurking menace watches their movements from concealment in the rugged landscape, casting a sombre shadow over their pastoral endeavours and whispered aspirations.
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    32 mins
  • It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter L, part 2

    It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter L, part 2
    May 18 2026
    In which an industrious and artful Tom Robinson endeavours to earn his honest living by painting exquisite imitation woodwork on doors, despite the trials and suspicions that dog his steps in Sydney, and where a promising acquaintance named Jenny reveals tender sentiments amid the hardships. Meanwhile, the sudden arrival of the dashing Honorable George Lascelles stirs a brisk wager and a dark intrigue, lending a curious tension to these otherwise homely scenes of labour and camaraderie.
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    20 mins
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