Record Number: 31744

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Meeting held at Frensham, Northcourt Avenue. 13th Sept. 1940
    Howard R. Smith in the Chair.
[...]
7. F. E. Pollard commenced the main business of the evening. This was to consist of readings of passages from books we had read during the year. F. E. was sorry but he was afraid he had read nothing recently which was intellectually suitable for the Club. (Cheers) He would however read from The Mill on the Floss. This proved to be a diverting dissertation on the Commercial Traveller who seems to have altered little since George Eliot’s day except in the article for sale for vacuum cleaners were conspicuous by their absence.
8. “The Seven Chars of Chelsea” by Celia Fremlin was the choice of Dorothea Taylor who warned us that it was an impalatable book. She must have read from the more tasty portions for we were entertained by the Margretian Charic conversation conversation which took place among the other six when the author joined their ranks and by the description of a very tasty cup of tea. Dr Taylor finished with a more serious passage on the difficulty of mistress and maid belonging to two completely different worlds.
9. Muriel Stevens read us a descriptive passage from “The Countryman”. We found that one should live in Corsica to appreciate the punctuality of our G.P.O.
10. Our adventurous evening took an astronomical turn while we heard from Howard Smith of the Herschels at Slough, their 40 foot telescope and the discovery of the planet Uranus. This was from Cecil Robert’s book “And so to Bath.”
11. Violet Clough then brought us nearer home by way of China in several extracts from “Four Part Setting” by Ann Bridges.
12. A. B. Dilks recommended us to read some or all of The Bases of Modern Science by J. W. W. Sullivan, published in the Pelican Series at 6d.
13. Rosamund Wallis found her bookmark more interesting than her book and read us an entertaining but pathetic letter from a refugee now in New York. His subject was the interesting one of the R[h]ythm of Glass Washing in [an] American Hotel.

[signed by:] R. D. L. Moore
Oct. 18. 1940.'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

13 Sep 1940

Country:

England

Time

evening

Place:

city: Reading
county: Berkshire
specific address: Frensham, 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

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Francis E. Pollard

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1872

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Formerly schoolmaster, now occasional lecturer and supply teacher, and supported also by wife's unearned income

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

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Text Being Read:

Author:

George Eliot (pseud.)

Title:

The Mill on the Floss

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

31744

Source:

Manuscript

Author:

Bruce Dilks

Title:

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

Location:

private collection

Call No:

n/a

Page/Folio:

74–77

Additional Information:

In the absence of the Secretary, Bruce Dilks acted as secretary of this meeting: see Minute 2.

Citation:

Bruce Dilks, XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 4 (1938-1943), private collection, 74–77, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=31744, accessed: 19 April 2024

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Additional Comments:

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).