Publisher's Synopsis
Charles Reade (1814-1884) was an English novelist and dramatist, best known for The Cloister and the Hearth. Reade's reputation was made by a comedy, Masks and Faces. On the advice of the actress, Laura Seymour, he turned the play into a novel. Margaret "Peg" Woffington (1720-1760) was a well-known Irish actress in Georgian London.