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

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 4034


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'To say the truth, much as I like reading them & specially Balzac and Sand, & little as I am given to overstrictness in my tastes, I do believe that the commonplace criticism is correct. I do think they are as a rule prurient & indecent & that they treat love affairs a good deal too much from the point of view of the whore and the whoremonger. They are very clever and very artistic; but I don?t think delicate either in the sense of art or morals? The books are put together with great skill to produce a given effect; but the effect is apt to border on the nasty & they are too anxious to keep everything in due harmony to give proper contrasts & variety of real life.'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

unknown

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

n/a

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:

Leslie Stephen

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

28 Nov 1832

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Literary critic, historian, journalist, biographer

Religion:

Christian

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

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

n/a


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Honore de Balzac

Title:

unknown

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

4034

Source:

Print

Author:

Leslie Stephen

Editor:

John Bicknell

Title:

The Selected Letters of Leslie Stephen Vol. 1 1864-1882

Place of Publication:

Ohio State University Press

Date of Publication:

1996

Vol:

1

Page:

54

Additional Comments:

Letter from Stephen to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (18/8/1867)

Citation:

Leslie Stephen, John Bicknell (ed.), The Selected Letters of Leslie Stephen Vol. 1 1864-1882, (Ohio State University Press, 1996), 1, p. 54, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=4034, accessed: 28 April 2024


Additional Comments:

None

   
   
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