Record Number: 1984

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'John Paton was raised in the Aberdeen slums on a diet of penny dreadfuls ("good healthy stuff for an imaginative boy") and he found similar thrills in the Bible, at least in the earlier episodes. "I revelled in the same way in the bloodier scenes of the Old Testament while the moralities of the New made no contact in my mind".'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

unknown

Country:

Scotland

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Aberdeen

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:

John Paton

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1886

Socio-Economic Group:

Unknown/NA

Occupation:

n/a

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

Scotland

Country of Experience:

Scotland

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Title:

[penny dreadfuls]

Genre:

Fiction, Children's Lit, penny dreadfuls

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

cheap 'penny dreadful' editions

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

1984

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:

103

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Jonathan Rose, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes, (New Haven, 2001), p. 103, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=1984, accessed: 09 May 2025

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Additional Comments:

See John Paton, 'Proletarian Pilgrimage' (London, 1935) p.41