Record Number: 31782
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'Meeting held at �Hilliers�, Northcourt Avenue. 18.XI.40
Rosamund Wallis in the chair.
[...]
7. Isabel Talor read �La Belle dame sans merci�[.] Some discussion followed in
which what Knox Taylor described as the �sensuous melancholy� of Keats was
contrasted unfavourably with the keen virility of Shelley. But warmed by some
excellent coffee, from the depths of a luxurious settee, some members were
heard to murmur that there was a lot to be said for the things of the senses____
[...]
[signed] Howard R. Smith
13/12/40'
1900-1945
Date:18 Nov 1940
Country:England
Timeevening
Place:city: Reading
county: Berkshire
specific address: Hilliers, Northcourt Avenue
(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary reactive unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: 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
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:La Belle Dame sans Merci
Genre:Poetry
Form of Text:Unknown
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceunknown
Source Information:
Record ID:31782
Source:Manuscript
Author:Margaret Dilks
Title:XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 4 (1938-1943)
Location:private collection
Call No:n/a
Page/Folio:79�82
Additional Information:
n/a
Citation:
Margaret Dilks, XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 4 (1938-1943), private collection, 79�82, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=31782, accessed: 07 February 2026
Additional Comments:
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).
