For more than three-quarters of a century The Cloister and the Hearth has been acknowledged as one of the finest historical novels in English literature. It stands comparison with the best of the works of fiction of its genre and has outlived most of them. Because the theme which dominated all of Charles Reade's writings—a fierce protest against social injustice—is never out of style. The Cloister and the Hearth has as great a significance today as it has had at any time since it appeared originally in 1861.