White Lies

Reade, Charles, 1814-1884Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 657K words
Chapters: 66

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.White Lies by Charles ReadeAuthor: Reade, Charles, 1814-1884,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: May 17, 2006

Editor's review

White Lies is a novel by Charles Reade, belonging to the nineteenth-century English fiction that gives equal weight to plot and moral questions. The title itself shows that the work revolves around lies, concealment, and well-meant deception, as characters weigh again and again between family ties and social expectations. Reade's narration is usually brisk, adept at advancing the plot through dialogue and embedding observations on human weakness in dramatic scenes. As a public-domain electronic text, the book is a good entry point for understanding the popular fiction of the Victorian period: readers can enjoy the pleasures of story while noting how the author handles the tension between truth and respectability, duty and feeling. As you read, pay attention to how lies are set up, exposed, and resolved, and to the differences in the narrator's attitude toward different characters.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century English fiction and melodramatic narrative
General readers interested in moral questions such as lying and concealment
Students who want to practice long-form reading with a public-domain English text

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer modern fast-paced suspense or a minimalist style
Specialist researchers who need detailed biographical and textual scholarship

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to grasp the main characters' relationships and the origin of the lie, then follow the plot forward.
Note the motive and consequence of each lie, and observe how the author arranges coincidences and misunderstandings.
After finishing, compare how different characters react when faced with the truth, and consider the multiple meanings the title suggests.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How does the pace of this book compare with modern suspense fiction?

It is closer to nineteenth-century plotted fiction, emphasizing relationships, misunderstandings, and dramatic scenes; it moves through dialogue and coincidence rather than the dense reversals of modern suspense. Readers accustomed to a slower pace will find it easier to enter.

What does “white lies” in the title mean?

Literally, it refers to trivial or well-meant lies. The novel revolves around concealment and deception; readers can watch how the characters justify their lies to themselves and whether those justifications hold up as the plot develops.

Does the English public-domain text pose reading difficulties?

The text is in English, and nineteenth-century sentence patterns and vocabulary differ from modern English; some dialogue may carry the flavor of its era. Read first for the gist of each chapter, and do not pause too long over unfamiliar expressions—maintaining continuity matters more.

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About the author

Reade, Charles, 1814-1884 Author

Charles Reade (1814–1884) was an English novelist and playwright of the Victorian era. Fifteen of his works are included in the collection, among them The Cloister and the Hearth: A Tale of the Middle Ages, Hard Cash, It Is Never Too Late to Mend, Peg Woffington, Put Yourself in His Place, A Perilous Secret, and Griffith Gaunt, or, Jealousy. Public information about his life is limited, and biographical details are difficult to verify, yet his works show a gift for blending history with modern social concerns. The Cloister and the Hearth is a meticulously researched medieval tale, while his other novels draw on Victorian social reality, addressing such themes as the law, prisons, money, and marriage with intricate plots and vivid characters. Reade also wrote for the stage, and his works are tightly structured with lively dialogue, combining a sense of theatre with readability and forming a distinctive style between the Victorian novel and drama.