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the experience of reading in Britain, from 1450 to 1945...

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 32357


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'I ... have also re-read Jane Eyre from beginning to end — it is a magnificent novel. Some of those long, long dialogues between her and Rochester are really like duets from a splendid opera, aren't they? And do you remember the description of the night she slept on the moor and of the dawn? You really lose a lot by never reading books again.'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 21 Jan 1916 and 1 Feb 1916

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

Great Bookham
Surrey
'Gastons'

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


Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Clive Staples Lewis

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

29 Nov 1898

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Student

Religion:

Church of England

Country of Origin:

Northern Ireland

Country of Experience:

England

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

n/a


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Charlotte Brontė

Title:

Jane Eyre

Genre:

Other religious, Fiction, Social Science, Feminist Bildunsroman, melodrama, Gothic romance

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

32357

Source:

Print

Author:

C. S. Lewis

Editor:

Walter Hooper

Title:

C. S. Lewis Collected Letters

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

2000

Vol:

1

Page:

161

Additional Comments:

From a letter to Arthur Greeves, 1 February 1916

Citation:

C. S. Lewis, Walter Hooper (ed.), C. S. Lewis Collected Letters, (London, 2000), 1, p. 161, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=32357, accessed: 05 October 2024


Additional Comments:

In an earlier letter to Greeves (4 May 1915, v.1, p. 117) Lewis writes: 'I have just finished "Shirley"; which I think better than either "Jane Eyre" or "Villette".'

   
   
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