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Record Number: 30395

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'My father has been quite sewed up for some days back, by Clifford�s article (a fine article it was too; [�]'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

Until: 7 Jun 1875

Country:

Scotland

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:

Robert Louis Stevenson

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

13 Nov 1850

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Writer

Religion:

Church of Scotland

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:

William Kingdom Clifford

Title:

Review of 'The Unseen Universe or Physical Speculations on a Future State'

Genre:

Essays / Criticism, Philosophy

Form of Text:

Print: Serial / periodical, Review article.

Publication Details

Fortnightly Review (June 1875)

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

30395

Source:

Print

Author:

Robert Louis Stevenon

Editor:

Bradford A. Booth

Title:

Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, April 1874-July 1879

Place of Publication:

New Haven and London

Date of Publication:

1994

Vol:

2

Page:

141

Additional Comments:

Written Monday [7 June 1875], from Letter 394, to Frances Sitwell, Friday [4 June 1875]�Monday [7 June 1875], [Swanston]. Co-editor Ernest Mehew. The foregoing material in square brackets has been added by the editors.

Citation:

Robert Louis Stevenon, Bradford A. Booth (ed.), Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, April 1874-July 1879, (New Haven and London, 1994), 2, p. 141, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=30395, accessed: 23 March 2026

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Additional Comments:

Editors� Note 2 on p. 141 reads: �In the June Fortnightly [Review] W.K. Clifford reviewed The Unseen Universe or physical speculations on a Future State, in an attempted reconciliation of science and religion, first published anonymously but later acknowledged to be by P.G. Tait and B. Stewart.� See also Letter 589.
On p.87 of Letters 2, Note 6 reads: �William Kingdon Clifford (1845-79), mathematician and metaphysician of brilliant promise. In �Memoirs of Himself� RLS refers to his �irresponsible boyishness of mind and manner� and says that he was then in the �hot fit of the most noisy atheism�.�