Record Number: 163

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Growing up in extreme poverty in East London, Crooks spent 2d. on a secondhand "Iliad" and was dazzled: "What a revelation it was to me. Pictures of romance and beauty I had never dreamed of suddenly opened up before my eyes. I was transported from the East End to an enchanted land. It was a rare luxury for a working lad like me just home from work to find myself suddenly among the heroes and nymphs of ancient Greece".'

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

unknown

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: East End of London

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:

Will Crooks

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1852

Socio-Economic Group:

Labourer (non-agricultural)

Occupation:

Labour MP eventually, but child labourer at this time

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Homer

Title:

The Iliad

Genre:

Classics

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

owned

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Source Information:

Record ID:

163

Source:

Print

Author:

Jonathan Rose

Editor:

n/a

Title:

The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes

Place of Publication:

New Haven

Date of Publication:

2001

Vol:

n/a

Page:

4-5

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Jonathan Rose, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes, (New Haven, 2001), p. 4-5, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=163, accessed: 26 April 2024

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Additional Comments:

See George Haw, "The Life story of Will Crooks" (London, 1917), p.22