Record Number: 31842

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Meeting held at Oakdene, 27. III. 1939
S. A. Reynolds in the chair.

[...]

2. Minutes of last read + approved.

3. A. B. Dilks read from Sir James Jeans� �Universe around Us�. Man�s insignificance was not even tempered by the possibility of life on Mars.

4. Muriel Stevens brought us to more homely surroundings with passages from Eleanor Acland�s �Goodbye for the Present.�

5. Hilaire Belloc�s descriptive power was illustrated by R. H. Robson�s reading from �The Eyewitness�, telling of Napoleon�s pursuit of of Sir John Moore + a snow storm in the Sierras.

6. Ethel C. Stevens�s extract from Agnes Hunt�s Reminiscences dealt with experiences in the Tasmanian Bush.

7. R. D. L Moore read from T Jefferson Hogg � from a book published in 1833 � an account of Shelley at Oxford.

8. Dorothea Taylor gave us Taine�s impressions of England written in 1871.

[...]


[signed] R. H. Robson
19. 5. 39'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

27 Mar 1939

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

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Reginald H. Robson

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1877

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

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Hilaire Belloc

Title:

The Eyewitness

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

31842

Source:

Manuscript

Author:

n/a

Title:

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

Location:

private collection

Call No:

n/a

Page/Folio:

40�1

Additional Information:

Although Victor Alexander was secretary to the XII Book Club at this time, it is clear from the handwriting that he was not the author of these minutes.

Citation:

XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 4 (1938-1943), private collection, 40�1, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=31842, accessed: 05 July 2025

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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).