Charles Reade
(1814-1884), Novelist and dramatistSitter in 3 portraits
Pursued a mildly Bohemian existence in Soho and was a staunch member of the Garrick club. He was thirty-eight when his first novel, Peg Woffington, appeared, and he achieved his first great success with It is Never too Late to Mend in 1856. He had tried to make his mark as a playwright, and his first three novels were all initially written as plays. His most successful theatrical venture was the play, Drink (1879), adapted from Zola's L'assomoire. Although critical opinion of his work varied, there were some contemporary critics who regarded The Cloister and the Hearth (1861) as one of the greatest English historical novel. All his novels are now out of print.
attributed to Charles Mercier
oil on canvas, circa 1870
NPG 2281
by Percy Fitzgerald
plaster cast of bust, circa 1870s-1884
NPG 1633
by George Goodman
albumen carte-de-visite, 1870-1884
NPG x136252
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