Record Number: 3365

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Allen Clark, the son of Bolton textile workers, found physiology books in the public library incomprehensible. A newspaper reference to Rabelais motivated him to borrow Gargantua and Pantagruel, which was no more helpful: "the love passages in the tales were meaningless and boring and I skipped them".'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

unknown

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Bolton

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:

Allen Clark

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1863

Socio-Economic Group:

Labourer (non-agricultural)

Occupation:

son of textile workers

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

[unknown]

Title:

[physiology textbooks]

Genre:

Textbook / self-education, Medicine

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

borrowed (public library)

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Source Information:

Record ID:

3365

Source:

Print

Author:

Jonathan Rose

Editor:

n/a

Title:

The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes

Place of Publication:

New Haven

Date of Publication:

2001

Vol:

n/a

Page:

210

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Jonathan Rose, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes, (New Haven, 2001), p. 210, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=3365, accessed: 20 April 2024

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Additional Comments:

See Allen Clarke 'Adventuring in "The Realms of Gold"', Liverpool Weekly Post (26 May, 1934)