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

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Record Number: 3814


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Britain was a mainly urban society...and soon an expanding range of sexual literature became available in the cities. Mark Grossek, the son of a Jewish immigrant tailor in Southwark, acquired his knowledge from grafitti, scandalous stories in the local press, 'Lloyd's Weekly News', 'Measure for Measure', the Song of Solomon, some old plays a fellow student had dug out of his father's library, General Booth's 'In Darkest England', Tobias Smollett, Quain's 'Dictionary of Medicine', as well as Leviticus ("For myself, the most subtle aura of enticement was wafted from the verb 'begat' and the noun 'concubine'")There was also Ovid, but unfortunately the popular translation published by Bohn "had left all the tasty chunks in Latin".'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

unknown

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: London, Southwark

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:

Mark Grossek

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1888

Socio-Economic Group:

Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder

Occupation:

tailor's son

Religion:

Jewish

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

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

n/a


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

n/a

Title:

Lloyd's Weekly News

Genre:

Ephemera

Form of Text:

Print: Newspaper

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

3814

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:

213

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Jonathan Rose, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes (New Haven, 2001), p. 213, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/RED/record_details.php?id=3814, accessed: 28 March 2024


Additional Comments:

See Mark Grossek, 'First Movement', pp30, 135-9.

   
   
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