Record Number: 5893

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'At the age of five she was caught by her father reading Dryden: 'I dropt my Book and burst into Tears'. However, instead of the expected punishment, her father gave her a shilling...'

Century:

1700-1799

Date:

unknown

Country:

unknown

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

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Laetitia Pilkington

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

1 Jan 1712

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Writer

Religion:

unknown

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

unknown

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

John Dryden

Title:

n/a

Genre:

Poetry

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

5893

Source:

Print

Author:

Jacqueline Pearson

Editor:

n/a

Title:

Women's reading in Britain, 1750-1835. A dangerous recreation.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge

Date of Publication:

1999

Vol:

n/a

Page:

123

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Jacqueline Pearson, Women's reading in Britain, 1750-1835. A dangerous recreation., (Cambridge, 1999), p. 123, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=5893, accessed: 18 May 2025

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Additional Comments:

See A C Elias (ed). The memoirs of Laetitia Pilkington (Athens, GA 1997), vol 1, pp. 12-13. Pearson records that she also read Milton, Pope, Swift, Young, Gay and Prior.