Record Number: 13964

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'I suffered very much in that shop through all the summer months. At that time we went to live at Malmaison and it was heartrending to think of George and Alfred [reader's brothers] playing Scouts and Indians in the park there whilst I sat hidden away in a musty corner behind the cash desk, in semi darkness near the hot irons, crouched on a small stool for days on end in the ?dead season? with nothing to do. Outside the rue Castiglione flamed in broiling sun. I spent the time reading so called ?penny dreadfuls?: Deadwood Dick, Buffalo Bill and others. In my murky corner I lived many perilous adventures and many hair-raising escapes. I was the hero and so forgot to grow lachrymal. This was the beginning of my literary education and my first taste for books. My crowning moment was when I succeeded in winning a Sunday school first prize, R. L. Stevenson?s ?Treasure Island?'.

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

unknown

Country:

France

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Paris

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

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Arthur Vanson

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

16 Dec 1884

Socio-Economic Group:

Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder

Occupation:

shop clerk

Religion:

Church of England

Country of Origin:

Born in Paris, British national

Country of Experience:

France

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

unknown

Title:

[penny dreadfuls]

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

13964

Source:

Manuscript

Author:

Arthur Vanson

Title:

MS Diary 1917

Location:

private collection

Call No:

MS Diary 1917

Page/Folio:

n/a

Additional Information:

n/a

Citation:

Arthur Vanson, MS Diary 1917, private collection, MS Diary 1917, n/a, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=13964, accessed: 13 May 2025

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Additional Comments:

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