"The Cloister and the Hearth” author Charles (5)
I believe the answer is:
reade
'the cloister and the hearth author charles' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for reade that I've seen before include "Charles --, wrote The Cloister and the Hearth" , "Charles -, The Cloister and the Hearth author" , "Victorian author" , "Victorian writer" , "Roman name for York" .)