Record Number: 21460
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'Sometimes when I think ... of the Dream-city, with its grey towers and autumn sunsets, and the little room where surrounded by books I used to read "Tess of the D'Urbervilles before a glowing fire at twelve o'clock at night, I can only cry inwardly: "I [italics] hate [end italics] nursing! How tired I am of this War - will it never end!"'
Century:1900-1945
Date:Between 29 Dec 1893 and 27 Jun 1915
Country:England
Timen/anight: 'twelve o'clock at night'
Place:city: Oxford
county: Oxfordshire
specific address: Somerville College
location in dwelling: Vera Brittain's room
(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:Female
Date of Birth:29 Dec 1893
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:writer
Religion:unknown
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: Title:Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Genre:Fiction
Form of Text:Print: Book, Unknown
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceunknown
Source Information:
Record ID:21460
Source:Vera Brittain
Editor:n/a
Title:Testament of Youth
Place of Publication:Great Britain
Date of Publication:1978
Vol:n/a
Page:202
Additional Comments:
Quotation taken from a letter written by Vera Brittain to Roland Leighton in October 1915.
Citation:
Vera Brittain, Testament of Youth, (Great Britain, 1978), p. 202, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=21460, accessed: 04 February 2026
Additional Comments:
Earlier in the chapter Vera Brittain says that she had left Oxford and started nursing on 27 June 1915. This helps to establish the date range of this reading experience.
