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: 4980


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Barber John Paton remembered that the "Boys' Friend" "ran a serial which was an enormously exciting tale of Alba's oppression of the Netherlands, and gave as its source, Motley's 'Rise of the Dutch Republic'". He borrowed it from the public library and, with guidance from a helpful adult, also read J.R. Green, Macaulay, Prescott, Grote, and even Mommsen's multi-volume History of Rome by age fourteen. "There must have been, of course, enormous gaps in my understanding of what I poured into the rag bag that was my mind, particularly from the bigger works," he conceded, "but at least I sensed the important thing, the immense sweep and variety and the continuity of the historical process".'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

Between 1 Jan 1890 and 31 Dec 1900

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: London

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:

John Paton

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1886

Socio-Economic Group:

Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder

Occupation:

barber

Religion:

n/a

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:

William Hickling Prescott

Title:

[Spanish history]

Genre:

History

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

borrowed (public library)


Source Information:

Record ID:

4980

Source:

Print

Author:

Jonathan Rose

Editor:

n/a

Title:

The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes

Place of Publication:

New Haven

Date of Publication:

2001

Vol:

n/a

Page:

368-9

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Jonathan Rose, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes, (New Haven, 2001), p. 368-9, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=4980, accessed: 05 November 2024


Additional Comments:

See John Paton, 'Proletarian Pilgrimage', pp. 45-6

   
   
Green Turtle Web Design