Значение слова READE в Литературной энциклопедии

CHARLES (1814-1884).-Novelist, _s._ of a country gentleman of Oxfordshire, _ed._ at Oxf., and called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn 1843. He did not, however, practise, but began his literary career with some dramas, of which the most remarkable were _Masks and Faces_, _Gold_, and _Drink_. He afterwards rewrote the first of these as a novel, _Peg Woffington_ (1852), which attained great popularity. _It is never too late to Mend_ appeared in 1856, his historical novel, _The Cloister and the Hearth_, generally regarded as his masterpiece (1861), _Hard Cash_ (1863), _Griffith Gaunt_ (1867), _Foul Play_ (1869), _Put Yourself in his Place_ (1870), and _A Terrible Temptation_ (1871). Critics have differed very widely as to the merits of R. as a novelist, and have attributed to, and denied him the same qualities; but it will be generally admitted that, while very unequal, he was at his best a writer of unusual power and vividness. Nearly all are agreed as to the great excellence of _The Cloister and the Hearth_, Mr. Swinburne placing it "among the very greatest masterpieces of narrative." Many of his novels were written with a view to the reformation of some abuse. Thus _Hard Cash_ exposes certain private asylums, and _Foul Play_, written in collaboration with Dion Boucicault, is levelled against ship-knackers.