The Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade

The Cloister and the Hearth

The enchanting true story of the parents of Erasmus of Rotterdam.

World's greatest love story.

List of titles offered by Classics Illustrated.

The page that most upset the hierarchy!!

The Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade.

At the turn of the century, a Russian immigrant named Albert L. Kanter arrived in the land of the free. He was a lover of learning and literature, was familiar with all the great classics of world literature, and wanted his children to share his enthusiasm for reading.

However, his children did not seem to share his passion for reading the great Classics. He thought that there might be opportunity in the newly developing comic book industry to present the Classics in comic book fashion and introduce the world's great literature to a wider audience.

In 1941, Mr. Kanter introduced the first of the Classics series with the publication of the Three Musketeers by French author Alexander Dumas.

The series was another great U.S. success story. All the great classics of literature were eventually produced. Here is a list of some of the titles:

List of some of the titles in the Classics Illustrated series

Author	Title
Alexandre Dumas	The Three Musketeers
Sir Walter Scott	Ivanhoe
Alexandre Dumas	The Count of Monte Cristo
Herman Melville	Moby Dick
Charles Dickens	A Tale of Two Cities
Victor Hugo	Les Miserables
Miguel De Cervantes	Don Quixote
Jules Verne	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
William Shakespeare	Hamlet
William Shakespeare	Julius Caesar
Harriet Beecher Stowe	Uncle Tom's Cabin
Emily Bronte	Wuthering Heights
Jane Porter	The Scottish Chiefs
Charles Reade	The Cloister and the Hearth

The entire series was a remarkable publishing success story and was translated into many languages. Kids loved them; parents loved them, and they were a fantastic way of introducing young readers to the great Classics of world literature.

However, with the last two titles Rome was highly displeased....Jane Porter wrote a stirring saga of the fight for Scottish Independence led by Sir William Wallace (Braveheart), and Charles Reade wrote an historical novel on the love story of the parents of Erasmus of Rotterdam.

The series began to experience trouble with the Rome controlled Postal Service, and the publishers lost their 2nd class postage. In 1962, they were bought out by a Roman Catholic publisher named Twin Circle and that led to the demise of the great Classics Illustrated Series. Today,U.S. kids do not have problems with reading the great Classics . . . they have problems reading at all!!

Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536).

Erasmus of Rotterdam was the intellectual giant of the Renaissance in Europe. He was the most learned man of his age. Every university in Europe vied for the honor of having him as a member of their faculty. He was also the editor of the Greek New Testament that Saint Martin Luther used to launch the blessed Reformation. It was said that "Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched." Erasmus had nothing but contempt for the corrupt clergy. His father and mother, Gerard and Margaret Brandt, are the subjects of The Cloister and the Hearth.

The Cloister and the Hearth is very faithful to the book except at the end. Gerard did not take back his wife Margaret and their son Erasmus. A titanic struggle raged within . . . his conscience told him to take back his loving wife and son . . . his cruel church told him to forsake them both.

Margaret died of the plague and was forgotten, while her son went on to fame as a great author and the most learned man in 16th century Europe.