Switch to English Switch to French

The Open University  |   Study at the OU  |   About the OU  |   Research at the OU  |   Search the OU

Listen to this page  |   Accessibility

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

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 4103


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

?In the works of Fielding our credulity is not taxed for superfluous admiration by any of those faultless monsters? Fielding?s chief excellence appears to lie in the delineation of his characters that combine simplicity, ignorance and benevolence. His Parson Adams and his Partridge will still induce us to tolerate even Joseph Andrews and Tom Jones. His mind appeared incapable of concocting a character of real virtue. His Allworthy is a prosing, self sufficient moral pedant; in Joseph Andrews virtue is ridiculous; in Tom Jones vice is honourable. Nobody now reads either but the school boy, and one of the earliest signs of an improved taste, and an advancement in Christian morality, is the rejection of both.?

Century:

1700-1799, 1800-1849

Date:

unknown

Country:

Ireland

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:

Charles Maturin

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1782

Socio-Economic Group:

Clergy (includes all denominations)

Occupation:

Curate

Religion:

Christian (Church of England)

Country of Origin:

Ireland

Country of Experience:

Ireland

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

n/a


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Henry Fielding

Title:

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

London, 1749

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

4103

Source:

Print

Author:

Charles Robert Maturin

Editor:

n/a

Title:

The British Review and London Critical Journal

Place of Publication:

n/a

Date of Publication:

1818

Vol:

XI

Page:

41

Additional Comments:

Review on the publication of Harrington and Ormond by Maria Edgeworth.

Citation:

Charles Robert Maturin, The British Review and London Critical Journal, (1818), XI, p. 41, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=4103, accessed: 20 April 2024


Additional Comments:

None

   
   
Green Turtle Web Design