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

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 18166


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'He [a friend] took me to a bar which he said was quite respectable, but the proprietor showed me pornographic photographs, which are things I absolutely loathe and abhor. So I went away in a dudgeon and read a chapter of Orlando to cleanse my mind. That book is the cleanest thing I know, - like very clear and deep crystal.'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 15 Nov 1928 and 3 Dec 1928

Country:

Germany

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Berlin

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:

Harold Nicolson

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

n/a

Socio-Economic Group:

Royalty / aristocracy

Occupation:

Diplomat

Religion:

Unknown

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

Germany

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

n/a


Additional Comments:

Harold Nicolson was Vita Sackville-West's husband



Text Being Read:

Author:

Virginia Woolf

Title:

Orlando

Genre:

Fiction, Biography

Form of Text:

Unknown

Publication Details

Published by the Hogarth Press 11 October 1928

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

18166

Source:

Print

Author:

Vita Sackville-West

Editor:

Louise DeSalvo

Title:

The Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf

Place of Publication:

Great Britain

Date of Publication:

1984

Vol:

n/a

Page:

314

Additional Comments:

These words were written by Harold Nicolson and quoted by Vita Sackville-West in her letter dated Monday 3 December 1928 written to Virginia Woolf. Additional editor Mitchell A. Leaska.

Citation:

Vita Sackville-West, Louise DeSalvo (ed.), The Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf, (Great Britain, 1984), p. 314, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=18166, accessed: 25 April 2024


Additional Comments:

In a footnote to a letter dated 4 November 1928 written by Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf, the editors state that Harold Nicolson returned to Berlin on 15 November after spending time in England where his father died on 5 November. This establishes the date range for his reading experience. I have classified Orlando as biography as it was based on the life of Vita Sackville-West. However it covers a long period of time and the main character is a man.

   
   
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