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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 XV, part 2

    It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter XV, part 2
    Apr 15 2026
    In which a despairing prisoner on the verge of madness finds solace and a flicker of hope through the compassionate and steadfast presence of a Christian chaplain, whose kindness begins to thaw a hardened heart despite the dark and cruel environment. Meanwhile, the chaplain’s efforts to educate and redeem even the most impaired inmates reveal the bitter conflict between humane reform and the harsh realities of prison discipline.
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    32 mins
  • It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter XV, part 1

    It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter XV, part 1
    Apr 14 2026
    In which Governor Hawes exercises his unyielding authority with stern and cruel punishments, while the new chaplain endeavours with tender compassion to soften the harshness of the prison’s discipline and to minister to the afflicted prisoner Robinson. Amidst the gloom of dark cells and the bitterness of despair, a solemn battle of wills and hearts is quietly waged between severity and mercy within these sombre walls.
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    28 mins
  • It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter XIV

    It is Never Too Late to Mend Chapter XIV
    Apr 13 2026
    In which a new chaplain arrives at the prison and promptly immerses himself in the inspection and understanding of the separate and silent system, encountering a range of prisoners whose characters he studies with compassionate interest. His earnest efforts to alleviate cruelty and introduce rational reform bring him into both congenial and contentious relations with the governor and staff, revealing the harsh realities and moral complexities of prison discipline.
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    26 mins
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