14 h 48 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 48 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the trust that leads you into trouble is also a source of strength?
In A Simpleton, Charles Reade follows people whose folly, trust and affection draw them into trouble. England means home, family pressure and the pull of respectable opinion. A long voyage and life in Africa carry the story far from those familiar comforts, where character faces a different test.
This Victorian romance asks what it means to be a simpleton: is simplicity a weakness, a strength, or both? Reade brings the questions of his own day into an energetic, openly emotional story. His narrator steps forward to comment, joke, scold and defend, keeping you close to the choices and their consequences.
What you’ll discover
- Trust under pressure Follow people whose affection and trust bring trouble as well as the promise of connection.
- Two continents, different tests Move from England's familiar rules to life in Africa, where distance tests character.
- The puzzle of simplicity Consider how the same simplicity can appear as folly or become a source of strength.
- A narrator with opinions Meet a storyteller who comments, jokes and argues rather than quietly standing aside.
- Fortunes that shift quickly Experience sharp scenes and quick changes of fortune in Reade's warm, outspoken narrative.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy Victorian fiction with a lively narrator will love this novel, as will those fascinated by medicine. It also appeals to lovers of romance shaped by money troubles, sharp comedy and sea adventure.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A father refuses a doctor with no income
- Two doctors guess wrong while a patient fades
- The cure is simple and the patient is furious
- A charming gambler and a faithful farm girl
- A marriage, a house and a lesson at auction
- No patients, new friends and one great fee
- Secret stays, secret debts and a hard decision
- A doctor at sea with a nervous young lord
- What it means to be a simpleton
- Money, trust and the cost of getting it wrong
- How Reade tells it: facts, voice and interruptions
Who’s who
- Rosa LusignanA beautiful, quick, vain young woman who loves dress and amusement, hides her mistakes from the husband she adores, and learns slowly through suffering.
- Christopher StainesA gifted young physician, honest and stubborn, who needs an income to marry Rosa and tries to earn one with skill, study and patience.
- Mr. LusignanRosa's father, a cautious businessman who hates noise and scenes and wants his daughter safely provided for.
- Uncle Philip StainesA crusty retired doctor and bachelor who mocks marriage, spots swindles at auctions and has a kinder heart than he admits.
- Lady Cicely TreherneAn earl's daughter who lisps and drawls, sees clearly, and becomes Rosa's loyal friend and the doctor's best patron.
- Phoebe DaleA strong, sensible Essex farmer's daughter who runs a dairy shop and gives her whole heart to a man who does not deserve it.
- Reginald FalconA charming spendthrift and gambler who wants money, pleasure and Rosa, and tells whatever lie serves him.
- Lord TadcasterA small, nervous young lord who needs a doctor's care at sea and grows brave, strong and devoted.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Ein Einfaltspinsel
by Charles Reade · 1873
A young doctor tells his beautiful, careless love that her bleeding comes from tight stays, and she sends him away.
Medium level5–10 hours to readDeutsch
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanischFranzösischDeutschItalienischJapanischPortugiesischEnglischHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What happens when a gifted young doctor tells the girl he loves that her bleeding comes from tight corsets? In A Simpleton, Rosa Lusignan sends him away, calls him a tyrant, and then, to her own surprise, begins to follow his advice.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A father refuses a doctor with no income
The story opens at Kent Villa, near Gravesend. Rosa Lusignan is nineteen, lovely and bored. Dr. Christopher Staines, twenty-eight and learned, arrives to ask her father for her hand.
Mr. Lusignan, an insurance director, asks one question. How much does your profession bring in each year? The honest answer is barely a hundred pounds. He sets his terms. Staines must settle in London, earn eight hundred pounds a year and insure his life for five thousand. Until then there will be no engagement.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1873
- Language
- Deutsch
- Reading time
- 9 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Reade, Charles. A Simpleton. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-simpleton.
Reade, C. (2026). A simpleton. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-simpleton (Original work published 1873)
Reade, Charles. A Simpleton. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-simpleton.
@book{reade2026simpleton,
author = {Reade, Charles},
title = {A Simpleton},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-simpleton},
note = {First published 1873}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Ein Einfaltspinsel
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is A Simpleton by Charles Reade about?
It follows a young doctor, Christopher Staines, and Rosa Lusignan, the beautiful girl he marries. Their struggles with money, fashion and friends lead him to a sea voyage and later to Africa, in a Victorian story of love, folly and loyalty.
Who is the simpleton in the title?
The word is first used by Rosa's father as an insult to her. Uncle Philip later gives it a kinder meaning, and the book invites readers to decide which characters deserve it.
Is A Simpleton based on a true story?
No. Reade says in his preface that the plot and characters are invented, though he drew facts for the medical, nautical and South African scenes from his own experience, handbooks, journals and travel letters.
The author
Charles Reade
1814–1884 · English novelist and dramatist
Charles Reade (1814–1884) was an English novelist and dramatist. He was born in Ipsden, Oxfordshire, and died in London. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford. His novels include The Cloister and the Hearth (1861), A Terrible Temptation (1871), and A Simpleton (1873). He also wrote plays.
More by Charles Reade
Alle Bücher des Autors ansehenMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
