The Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

What book has been on your TBR Shelf the longest?

For me, the answer is The Cloister and the Hearth, which I bought in 1981 when I was a freshman in high school. It was a pretty edition of an old book and I liked it. Then I never read it and have carted it around ever since. I decided to finally read it after 40+ years! It is one of the books I'm reading for the TBR 23 in '23 Challenge. 

What do you think of the opening sentence, below?

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays to share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book you want to highlight, even if you are not reading it right now. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Not a day passes over the earth, but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows.

-- from The Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade. This historical fiction novel was published in 1861 but is set in the 1460s in Holland and Italy. 

I had no idea what to expect. But I didn't expect it to be such a rollicking adventure story! Without giving away anything not on the back cover, the hero Gerard falls in love with Margaret but wants to go to Italy to make money copying manuscripts and learning to be an artist. Through trickery and deceit, he hears she died and never knows she had their baby son (out of wedlock!), so he becomes a priest. Adventures ensue as Gerard and Margaret figure out what went wrong. Lots of other crazy things happen, including being chased by a leopard, bloodhounds, and bears. 

I still have 75 pages to go and I don't see a happy ending on the horizon. But I love the journey even though I suspect the destination might be disappointing. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please leave the link to your Book Beginnings on Fridays post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings.

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From The Cloister and the Hearth:

But when Ghysbrecht told him that Margaret was a girl of good character; that it was not to be supposed she would be so intimate if marriage had not been spoken of between them, his brow darkened. 

“Marriage! that shall never be,” said he sternly.