Record Number: 15150

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Even eight-year-old Willy [Godwin] went once in a while to hear his Papa [William Godwin]'s friend [S. T. Coleridge] speak [in London Philosophical Society lectures, 18 November 1811-27 January 1812], and by February he was giving weekly lectures a la Coleridge, reading from the little pulpit specially built for him a lecture written by one of the girls [Fanny Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, Claire Clairmont]. [Aaron] Burr was much amused at one he heard on "The Influence of Governments on the Character of the People."' (From Marion Kingston Stocking's Introduction to Claire Clairmont's first journal).

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

Between 18 Nov 1811 and 27 Jan 1812

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: London
specific address: 41 Skinner Street

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:

William Godwin jr

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

28 Mar 1803

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

child

Religion:

unknown

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

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

Aaron Burr

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

various

Title:

lecture on 'The Influence of Government on the Character of the People'

Genre:

Politics

Form of Text:

Manuscript: Unknown

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

owned

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Source Information:

Record ID:

15150

Source:

Print

Author:

Claire Clairmont

Editor:

Marion Kingston Stocking

Title:

The Journals of Claire Clairmont

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Date of Publication:

1968

Vol:

n/a

Page:

19

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Claire Clairmont, Marion Kingston Stocking (ed.), The Journals of Claire Clairmont, (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1968), p. 19, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=15150, accessed: 17 March 2025

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Additional Comments:

Child's 'lecture' apparently written by any/all of Fanny Godwin (b. 1794), Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (b.1797), Claire Clairmont (b. c.1798).