Record Number: 931

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Uriah Plant, a wheelwright's son, affirmed that "My uncertainty about the truth of religion not only increased my sense of its importance... but gave me a habit of thinking, a love of reading, and a desire after knowledge"... he organized a discussion group devoted to religion and, over six years spent "only" ?21 10s. 9d. on books, mostly secondhand. He fearlessly read across the spectrum of theological opinion, including The Age of Reason'.

Century:

1700-1799, 1800-1849

Date:

Between 1786 and 1829

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Leicester

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:

Uriah Plant

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1786

Socio-Economic Group:

Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder

Occupation:

office boy and bookkeeper

Religion:

later a Wesleyan Methodist

Country of Origin:

n/a

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:

Thomas Paine

Title:

The Age of Reason

Genre:

Politics, Philosophy

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

owned

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Source Information:

Record ID:

931

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:

30

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Jonathan Rose, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes, (New Haven, 2001), p. 30, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=931, accessed: 22 April 2025

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Additional Comments:

See Uriah Plant 'An Account of the Principal Events in the Life of Uriah Plant' (1829)