Reading Experience Database
1450-1945

Basic Search

Advanced Search

Record 28144

Reading Experience:

Evidence:
[Catherine Talbot to Elizabeth Carter, 29 July 1757:] 'My mother's passion is feeding chickens, in this too I share with her, and we study the various characters of the poultry with infinite amusement. Two of our hens are called Cleopatra and Octavia, my mother named them, and with perfect justice, and we divert ourselves with studying how the chickens take after them. These names put me in mind to ask you how could Mrs Fielding who is so good a woman make Octavia self-sufficient under suffering and trials, and not so much as hint the smallest degree of uninstructed piety as even heathens had [...] I do not love any dialogues of the dead, because it is representing a true and awful state in generally a false light [...] Fine people are too apt to think they may live very happy, and be very remarkably good without any religion, and Octavia will convince them of it, for her story is enchantingly told, and in some parts made [italics] even me [end italics] cry very heartily -- [italics] even me [end italics] as if I was of adamant.'
Century: 1700-1799
Date: Between 1 Jan 1756 and 29 Jul 1757
Country: n/a
Time: n/a
Place: n/a
   
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:Catherine Talbot
Age Adult (18-100+)
Gender Female
Date of Birth 21 May 1721
Socio-economic group: Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation: Writer
Religion: n/a
Country of origin: England
Country of experience: n/a
Listeners present if any:
(e.g. family, servants, friends, workmates)
n/a
Additional comments: n/a

 

Text Being Read:

Author: Sarah Fielding
Title: The Lives of Cleopatra and Octavia
Genre: Fiction
Form of Text: Print: Book
Publication details: n/a
Provenance: unknown

 

Source Information:

Record ID: 28144  
Source - Print  
  Author: n/a
  Editor: Montagu Pennington
  Title: A Series of Letters between Mrs Elizabeth Carter and Miss Catherine Talbot, from the year 1741 to 1770. To which are added, Letters from Mrs Elizabeth Carter to Mrs Vesey, between the years 1763 and 1787
  Place of Publication: London
  Date of Publication: 1809
  Vol: 2
  Page: 251-252
  Additional comments: n/a

Citation: Montagu Pennington (ed.), A Series of Letters between Mrs Elizabeth Carter and Miss Catherine Talbot, from the year 1741 to 1770. To which are added, Letters from Mrs Elizabeth Carter to Mrs Vesey, between the years 1763 and 1787 (London, 1809), 2, p. 251-252, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/reading/recorddetails2.php?id=28144, accessed: 29 March 2024

Additional comments:

 

 

Reading Experience Database version 2.0.  Page updated: 27th Apr 2016  3:15pm (GMT)