Record Number: 24600

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

John Gibson Lockhart to John Wilson Croker, 12 January 1849, on Macaulay's recently-published History of England: 'He has written some very brilliant essays [...] but he has written [italics]no history[end italics] [...] his bitter hatred of the Church of England all through is evident; it is, I think, the only very strong feeling in the book [...] 'Then his treatment of the Whig criminals Sidney and Russell, is very shabby [...] 'You will tell me by-and-bye what you think of this. I own that I read the book with breathless interest, in spite of occasional indignations, but I am now reading Grote's new volume of his "History of Greece," and, upon my word, I find the contrast of his calm, stately, tranquil narrative very soothing. In short, I doubt if Macaulay's book will go down as a standard addition to our [italics]historical[end italics] library, though it must always keep a high place among the specimens of English rhetoric.'

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

Between 1 Dec 1848 and 12 Jan 1849

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:

John Gibson Lockhart

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1794

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Writer

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:

Thomas Babington Macaulay

Title:

History of England, vols 1 and 2

Genre:

History, Politics

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

24600

Source:

Print

Author:

n/a

Editor:

Louis J. Jennings

Title:

The Croker Papers. The Correspondence and Diaries of the Late Right Honourable John Wilson Croker, LL.D., F.R.S., Secretary to the Admiralty from 1809 t0 1830

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

1884

Vol:

3

Page:

192-193

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Louis J. Jennings (ed.), The Croker Papers. The Correspondence and Diaries of the Late Right Honourable John Wilson Croker, LL.D., F.R.S., Secretary to the Admiralty from 1809 t0 1830, (London, 1884), 3, p. 192-193, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=24600, accessed: 18 May 2025

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Additional Comments:

None