Great reviews for a great book. I have loved this book for almost 50 years... and it never gets old. I am a reader, but this is my all-time favorite book. Charles Reade makes you feel a part of the adventures, of the history of that time period, opening your eyes to life as it was lived, enjoying the depth of strong friendship and the passion of love, and then having your heart broken more than once. It provides an insight into LIFE as no other book has accomplished that I have ever read. (And still, after all these years of telling others, only one person I know has picked it up and read it all the way through...) It is a gem and though hard to explain, it has deepened my understanding of people, their faults, their adventures, their loves, their lives.