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

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 30136


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

February 15th was the date chosen for the next time and the subject “Books that people have been reading”


Meeting held at Oakdene: Northcourt Av.–15.2.38 Sylvanus A. Reynolds in the Chair.


1. Minutes of last read and approved

[...]


4. The first reading came from Reginald Robson who gave us an amusing extract from “Beasts & Superbeasts” by H. H. Munro


5. Mary S. Stansfield read from “Lawrence by his Friends” some interesting impressions contributed by some of these friends to a book edited by Lawrence’s brother. One passage by a man who knew Lawrence as a fellow aircraftman gave us a picture of him as a thoroughly likeable and popular hero, admired for his prowess as a motorcyclist.


6. Howard L. Sikes then read from Africa View by Julian Huxley. The passage concerned the respective advantages of Indirect and Direct Rule[...]. This reading produced considerable discussion on the same questions, and spread over on to the attitude of the French and the British toward their African dependant peoples, and members found something to ask or to say about almost every corner of Africa[...].


7. Elizabeth T. Alexander followed with an entertaining reading from Halliday Sutherland’s “A time to keep”. We shall carry in our minds for some time the dramatic appearance of Red William in his nightshirt urging the ladies in evening dress to run for their lives.


8. Roger Moore gave us some excellent fun in his reading from Benjamin Robert Haydon’s Autobiography, and we made some discoveries about Charles Lamb and Wordsworth too.


9. F. E. Pollard, greatly daring, then read from the “Comments of Bagshott” [sic] some shrewd remarks about the male and female of the human species[...].


10. H. R. Smith completed the programme with some well chosen paragraphs from “Those English” by Carl [i.e. Curt] von Stutterheim.

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

15 Feb 1938

Country:

England

Time

evening

Place:

city: Reading
county: Berkshire
specific address: Oakdene, Northcourt Avenue

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary reactive unknown
single serial unknown


Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Victor Alexander

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1887

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

n/a

Religion:

Quaker or associated with the Friends

Country of Origin:

n/a

Country of Experience:

England

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

Members of the XII Book Club


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Victor Alexander

Title:

Minutes of the meeting of the XII Book Club held 20 Jan 1938

Genre:

Minutes

Form of Text:

Manuscript: Notebook

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

owned


Source Information:

Record ID:

30136

Source:

Manuscript

Author:

Victor Alexander

Title:

XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 4 (1938-1943)

Location:

private collection

Call No:

n/a

Page/Folio:

0, 3–6

Additional Information:

Victor Alexander was secretary to the XII Book Club from 1931 to 1940. It is inferred from this that he was the author of this set of minutes.

Citation:

Victor Alexander, XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 4 (1938-1943), private collection, 0, 3–6, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=30136, accessed: 20 April 2024


Additional Comments:

It is assumed that it was Victor Alexander, as secretary of the club, who read out the minutes of the previous meeting.
Material by kind permission of the XII Book Club. For further information and permission to quote this source, contact the Reading Experience Database (http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/contacts.php).

   
   
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