The
Cloister
and
the
Hearth
is
an
historical
novel
depicting
life
in
Europe
during
the
15th
century.
The
interest
centers
in
the
love
story
of
Erasmus's
parents.
In
the
last
chapters
of
The
Cloister
and
the
Hearth,
Charles
Reade
speaks
of
himself
as
rescuing
Gerard
and
Margaret
"from
long
and
unmerited
oblivion."
These
two,
the
hero
and
heroine
of
his
tale,
are
in
real
history
the
parents
of
Erasmus
(1466-I536),
who
was
the
greatest
humanist
of
the
Renaissance
period
and
the
first
"man
of
letters"
in
Europe
after
the
many
centuries
that
had
passed
since
the
fall
of
the
Roman
Empire.
The
little
Gerard
of
the
novel
grew
up
to
become
a
major
personality
and
force
in
the
revival
of
learning
and
the
revival
of
the
enjoyment
of
life,
which
had
disappeared
during
the
so-called
Dark
Ages,
and
came
to
life
in
the
Renaissance.
Like
the
parents
of
many
another
famous
man,
the
parents
of
Erasmus
were
forgotten
by
history,
until
Charles
Reade
came
upon
the
story
in
old
Latin
manuscripts
and
in
Erasmus'
own
writings.
Taking
what
facts
he
could
find,
after
a
tremendous
labour
of
research
and
documentation,
Charles
Reade
wove
them
into
this
novel,
which
is
considered
his
masterpiece,
and
one
of
the
best
historical
novels
ever
written.
Reade
was
proud
of
the
amount
of
historical
information
included
in
the
work.
All
the
customs
of
Holland,
Germany,
Burgundy,
and
Italy
which
are
pictured
in
the
novel
give
a
graphic
view
of
the
manners
and
beliefs
of
European
peoples
in
the
fifteenth
century.
Much
of
the
plot
is
based
on
the
inhuman
custom,
in
practice
at
the
time,
that
priests
could
not
marry.
(http://www.reformation.org/charles_reade.html)