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Record Number: 30479

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Meeting held at �Frensham� 8th July 1944
����Howard R. Smith in the chair.

[...]

7. �Love Came In� by Beatrice Saxon-Snell was read with the following cast:-
����Thomas Curtis � F. E. Pollard
����Anne Curtis � Isabel Taylor
����Sandra � Elsie Harrod
����Joe Coale � Bruce Dilks
����James Naylor � Howard Smith

Before the reading Howard Smith briefly recounted the historical events leading up to the time at which the action takes place. which explains the very strained relations between George Fox & James Naylor. It was agreed that when the copies were returned to Beatrice Saxon-Snell she should be warmly thanked for lending them to us, & told how very much the club appreciated the play.

8. �The Dear Departed� by Stanley Houghton a play of a much more frivolous nature, was read with the following cast:-
����Henry Slater � Bruce Dilks
����Amelia Slater � Muriel Stevens
����Ben Jordan � Howard Smith
����Elizabeth Jordan � Rosamund Wallis
����Victoria Slater � Margaret Dilks
����Abel Merryweather � F. E. Pollard

9. It being still quite early we decided to read another short play & chose quite at random from the books available �The Man who wouldn't go to Heaven� by F. Sladen-Smith. Read from sight and cast quite haphazardly this proved most entertaining. F. E. Pollard as the recording angel, Basil Smith as the Free Church Minister (with a voice pregnant with unxious non-conformity), Rosamund Wallis as a string minded woman calling loudly for her dog & indeed every character was most aptly portrayed. The full cast was as follows:
����Thariel � F. E. Pollard
����Margaret � Margaret Dilks
����Richard Alton � Bruce Dilks
����Bobbie Nightingale � Howard Smith
����Eliza Muggins � Muriel Stevens
����Sister Mary Teresa � Dorothea Taylor
����Mrs Cuthbert Bagshawe � Ruth Beck
����Harriet Rebecca Strenham � Rosamund Wallis
����Rev John McNulty � Basil Smith
����Timothy Toto Newbiggin � Sylvanus Reynolds
����Derrick Bradley � Elsie Harrod

[signed as a true record by] AB Dilks 18/9/44'

Century:

Date:

8 Jul 1944

Country:

England

Time

evening

Place:

city: Reading
county: Berkshire
specific address: Frensham, Northcourt Avenue

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary reactive unknown
single serial unknown

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Isabel Taylor

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

n/a

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

n/a

Religion:

Quaker or associated with the Friends

Country of Origin:

n/a

Country of Experience:

England

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

Members of the XII Book Club

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Beatrice Saxon-Snell

Title:

Love Came In

Genre:

Drama, One-act plays, Historical dramas, History of Quakerism

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

Please see Additional Comments

Provenance

borrowed (other)
Copies borrowed from the author

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Source Information:

Record ID:

30479

Source:

Manuscript

Author:

Margaret Dilks

Title:

XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 5 (1944-1952)

Location:

private collection

Call No:

n/a

Page/Folio:

11-16

Additional Information:

Margaret Dilks was secretary to the XII Book Club from 1940 to 1970. It is inferred from this, and from the handwriting, that she was the author of this set of minutes.

Citation:

Margaret Dilks, XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 5 (1944-1952), private collection, 11-16, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=30479, accessed: 03 February 2026

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Additional Comments:

According to WorldCat, the play appears in Beatrice Saxon Snell, Fourteen Quaker plays (n.p: n. pub., n.d.) and in John Drinkwater et al, A book of one-act plays (London: Allenson, 1936) Material by kind permission of the XII Book Club. For further information and permission to quote this source, contact the Reading Experience Database (http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/contacts.php).