Record Number: 22243

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'BOSWELL. "Pray, Sir, is the 'Turkish Spy' a genuine book?" JOHNSON. "No, Sir. Mrs. Manley, in her 'Life', says that her father wrote the first two volumes: and in another book, 'Dunton's Life and Errours', we find that the rest was written by one Sault, at two guineas a sheet, under the direction of Dr. Midgeley".'

Century:

1700-1799

Date:

Until: 10 Apr 1783

Country:

n/a

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:

James Boswell

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

29 Oct 1740

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

writer and lawyer

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

Scotland

Country of Experience:

n/a

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Giovanni Paolo Marana

Title:

Letters written by a Turkish spy, who lived five and forty years undiscovered at Paris: giving an impartial account to the Divan at Constantinople, of the most remarkable transactions of Europe: and discovering several intrigues and secrets ...

Genre:

Politics, satire?

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

22243

Source:

Print

Author:

James Boswell

Editor:

R.W. Chapman

Title:

Life of Johnson

Place of Publication:

Oxford

Date of Publication:

1980

Vol:

n/a

Page:

1215-16

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

James Boswell, R.W. Chapman (ed.), Life of Johnson, (Oxford, 1980), p. 1215-16, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=22243, accessed: 09 May 2025

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Additional Comments:

Originally published 1791. The (anonymous) book seems to have been written in Italian by Giovanni Paolo Marana, and a translation into English edited by Midgeley. The full title was 'Letters written by a Turkish spy, who lived five and forty years undiscovered at Paris: giving an impartial account to the Divan at Constantinople, of the most remarkable transactions of Europe: and discovering several intrigues and secrets of the Christian courts (especially of that of France). Continued from the year 1637, to the year 1682.'