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the experience of reading in Britain, from 1450 to 1945...

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 12498


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Saturday 13th October 1928. After dinner went with Mme. and George to Romainville to hear Georges Pioch on Tolsto?. [...] Queerly enough, though Pioch himself is a Tolstoyan and though his speech showed the bias, it seemed to strengthen the instinctive dislike, which I feel for Tolstoy the man. I can admire and be troubled by his theories. I can find his works wonderful, and yet I dislike Tolstoy. His personal arrogance, his obvious sense of superiority to all the individuals with whom he comes in contact does not square with his humility in face of that which are abstractions ? the People. Again, he is too much the propagandist. He squares the circle too perfectly. He seems drunk with logic in his propagandist books. These things always make me suspicious. I do not believe that life can be simplified like that, that it can be governed by half a dozen rules of conduct. I believe that life is essentially a thing of endless complication, endless contradiction, a machinery of compromises, a picture composed of endlessly varied halftones. It is probable that I do not properly appreciate the Tolstoyan argument, but so far as my comprehension permits and my own knowledge, I am no Tolstoyan.'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 16 Jun 1903 and 13 Oct 1928

Country:

France

Time

n/a

Place:

n/a

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown


Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Gerald Moore

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

16 Jun 1903

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Coffee then Cocoa broker, working for Unilever - United Africa Company

Religion:

none

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

France

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Leo Tolstoy

Title:

unknown

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

12498

Source:

Manuscript

Author:

Gerald Moore

Title:

MS Diary 1928

Location:

Private Collection

Call No:

MS Diary 1928

Page/Folio:

n/a

Additional Information:

For further information about this diary, please contact the Reading Experience Database project: http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/contacts.php

Citation:

Gerald Moore, MS Diary 1928, Private Collection, MS Diary 1928, n/a, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=12498, accessed: 08 November 2024


Additional Comments:

This material Copyright Andrew Neill Vanson Moore, and Shirley Frances Gould-Smith.

   
   
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