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

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 21579


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'That ingenious and elegant gentleman's [Shenstone's] opinion of Johnson appears in one of his letters to Mr. Greaves, dated Feb. 9, 1760. "I have lately been reading one or two volumes of the Rambler; who, excepting against some few hardnesses in his manner, and the want of more examples to enliven, is one of the most nervous, most perspicuous, most concise, [and] most harmonious prose writers I know. A learned diction improves by time".'

Century:

1700-1799

Date:

Until: 9 Feb 1760

Country:

n/a

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:

William Shenstone

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

18 Nov 1714

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

poet

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

n/a

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

n/a


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Samuel Johnson

Title:

Rambler, The

Genre:

Essays / Criticism

Form of Text:

Print: Serial / periodical

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

21579

Source:

Print

Author:

James Boswell

Editor:

R.W. Chapman

Title:

Life of Johnson

Place of Publication:

Oxford

Date of Publication:

1980

Vol:

n/a

Page:

698

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

James Boswell, R.W. Chapman (ed.), Life of Johnson, (Oxford, 1980), p. 698, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=21579, accessed: 29 March 2024


Additional Comments:

Original date of publication 1791.

   
   
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