Switch to English Switch to French

The Open University  |   Study at the OU  |   About the OU  |   Research at the OU  |   Search the OU

Listen to this page  |   Accessibility

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

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 27301


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'When Murray was about to publish Byron's "Siege of Corinth" and "Parisina," he promised to send the early sheets to Blackwood, who proposed to hold a dinner in honour of the occasion, to which Scott, Erskine, and James Ballantyne were to be invited. Scott [...] unfortunately, could not accept the invitation for the day named; but, to secure his attendance, the dinner was put off for a week, and then he made his appearance with Erskine and Ballantyne. The poems were read, to the immense delight of the audience.'

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

Between 1 Feb 1816 and 9 Feb 1815

Country:

Scotland

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Edinburgh

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:

Walter Scott

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1771

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Writer

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

Scotland

Country of Experience:

Scotland

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

William Blackwood Erskine James Ballantyne


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

George Gordon Lord Byron

Title:

Parisina

Genre:

Fiction, Poetry

Form of Text:

Print: Unknown

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

27301

Source:

Print

Author:

Samuel Smiles

Editor:

n/a

Title:

A Publisher and His Friends: Memoir and Correspondence of the Late John Murray

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

1891

Vol:

1

Page:

455

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Samuel Smiles, A Publisher and His Friends: Memoir and Correspondence of the Late John Murray, (London, 1891), 1, p. 455, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=27301, accessed: 03 May 2024


Additional Comments:

Source ed. quotes from letter from Blackwood to John Murray of 11 February 1816, in which it is remarked: 'The arrival of Byron's Poems has created a great buzz here. It has also got over the whole town that Mr. Scott had dined with me, and read them, and was in raptures with them I did not mean to have said anything about this, but Mr. S. and Ballantyne talked about it, and it spread abroad like wildfire' (pp.455-456).

   
   
Green Turtle Web Design