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

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 5642


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Robert Collyer grew up in a blacksmith's home with only a few books - "Pilgrim's Progress", "Robinson Crusoe", Goldsmith's histories of England and Rome - but their basic language made them easy to absorb and excellent training for a future clergyman: "I think it was then I must have found the germ... of my lifelong instinct for the use of simple Saxon words and sentences which has been of some worth to me in the work I was finally called to do".'

Century:

1800-1849

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:

Robert Collyer

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1823

Socio-Economic Group:

Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder

Occupation:

son of blacksmith, later a clergyman

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:

Oliver Goldsmith

Title:

History of Rome

Genre:

History

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

owned


Source Information:

Record ID:

5642

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:

394

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Jonathan Rose, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes, (New Haven, 2001), p. 394, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=5642, accessed: 18 April 2024


Additional Comments:

See Robert Collyer, 'Memories', pp.23-4.

   
   
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