Charles Reade was born in 1814 in England. He used his writings to attack the social injustices of his time. Before becoming a writer Reade studied for the bar and then sold violins. The Cloister and the Hearth written in 1861 is his best known work. This novel tells the story of Father Desiderius Erasmus. He is a man torn between religious celibacy and his romantic love for a woman forbidden to him.