Record Number: 5700
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'[Patrick McGill] read virtually nothing, not even the daily papers until, working on the rail line, he happened to pick up some poetry written on a page from an exercise book. Somehow it spoke to him and he began to read "ravenously". He brought "Sartor Resartus", "Sesame and Lilies" and Montaigne's essays to work. "Les Miserables" reduced him to tears, though he found "Das Kapital" less affecting. Each payday he set aside a few shillings to buy secondhand books, which after a month's use were almost illegible with rust, grease and dirt....[eventually he] went on to become a popular novelist.'
Century:1900-1945
Date:unknown
Country:n/a
Timedaytime
Place:other location: railway line
Type of Experience(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:1890
Socio-Economic Group:Labourer (non-agricultural)
Occupation:navvy
Religion:n/a
Country of Origin:Ireland
Country of Experience:n/a
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:[poem]
Genre:Poetry
Form of Text:Manuscript: Sheet, sheet from an exercise book
Publication Detailsn/a
ProvenanceFound
Source Information:
Record ID:5700
Source: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:418-19
Additional Comments:
n/a
Citation:
Jonathan Rose, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes, (New Haven, 2001), p. 418-19, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=5700, accessed: 05 November 2024
Additional Comments:
See Patrick McGill, 'Children of the Dead End' (London, 1914) pp. 15-16