Record Number: 31849

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Meeting held at 219 King’s Rd 20. IV. 1939.
    Dorothea Taylor in the Chair.

1. Opening the subject of Euripides, F. E. Pollard gave some account of Athens in the fifth century B.C. — the history from the victory over the Persians, through the tyranny of the Athenian Empire, the degradation of standards, to the fall of the city; & in the realm of thought, the coming of the questioning spirit typified by the sophists, Socrates & Euripides.

2. A reading from ‘The Trojan Women’ was given by Elizabeth Alexander & Mary E. Robson, in the characters of Cassandra & Hecuba.

3. Leslie Scott, in general comments on the poet’s quality and philosophy, noted his contradictory reputations — serious or the reverse, nationalist or idealist? With Dr. Verrall & Gilbert Murray, his popularity had grown immensely. He is accused of lack of restraint, but he is human. His pathos is moving, even if occasionally overdrawn. He breaks through stage conventions, his characters are mixed, & reveal inner conflict. He is at his best with women, though regarded at times as a woman-hater, at others as a pioneer of her emancipation. It is almost certain that he deliberately ridicules the Gods. [...]

4. Muriel Stevens took Iphigenia, C. E. Stansfield Orestes, & F. E. Pollard Pylades, from the Iphigenia in Tauris — the recognition scene.

5. Mary S. W. Pollard as Andromache, & S. A. Reynolds as Talthybius, read the tragic scene from the Trojan Women, when it is told to his mother that the little boy Astyanax is to be killed: &
6. Hecuba’s lament for her grandchild was read by Mary E. Robson.

7. The reading of the minutes of the last meeting was deferred.
[...]


[signed] Reginald H. Robson
19. 5. 1939'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

20 Apr 1939

Country:

England

Time

evening

Place:

city: Reading
county: Berkshire
specific address: 219 King's Road

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:

Mary E. Robson

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

1884

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:

Euripides

Title:

The Trojan Women

Genre:

Classics, Drama

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

31849

Source:

Manuscript

Author:

n/a

Title:

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

Location:

private collection

Call No:

n/a

Page/Folio:

42–4

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, 42–4, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=31849, accessed: 09 May 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).