""The Cloister and the Hearth V2: A Tale of the Middle Ages, The Autobiography of a Thief"" is a historical novel written by Charles Reade and first published in 1902. The book is set in the Middle Ages and tells the story of Gerard Eliassoen, a young man who leaves his family's home in Holland to pursue a career as a scholar. Along the way, he falls in love with a beautiful woman named Margaret, but their relationship is threatened by her father,...