Record Number: 21177
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'Mr. Elphinston talked of a new book that was much admired, and asked Dr. Johnson if he had read it. Johnson. "I have looked into it." "What (said Elphinston), have you not read it through?" Johnson, offended at being thus pressed, and so obliged to own his cursory mode of reading, answered tartly, "No, sir; do [italics] you [end italics] read books [italics] through [end italics]?"'
Century:1700-1799
Date:Until: 19 Apr 1773
Country:England
Timen/a
Place:city: London
Type of Experience(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:18 Sep 1709
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:writer
Religion:Anglican
Country of Origin:England
Country of Experience:England
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:[a recently published book]
Genre:Unknown
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceunknown
Source Information:
Record ID:21177
Source:James Boswell
Editor:R.W. Chapman
Title:Life of Johnson
Place of Publication:Oxford
Date of Publication:1980
Vol:n/a
Page:520
Additional Comments:
n/a
Citation:
James Boswell, R.W. Chapman (ed.), Life of Johnson, (Oxford, 1980), p. 520, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=21177, accessed: 27 April 2025
Additional Comments:
Originally published 1791.