Reading Experience Database
1450-1945

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Record 4032

Reading Experience:

Evidence:
'To say the truth, much as I like reading them & specially Balzac and Sand, & little as I am given to overstrictness in my tastes, I do believe that the commonplace criticism is correct. I do think they are as a rule prurient & indecent & that they treat love affairs a good deal too much from the point of view of the whore and the whoremonger. They are very clever and very artistic; but I don?t think delicate either in the sense of art or morals? The books are put together with great skill to produce a given effect; but the effect is apt to border on the nasty & they are too anxious to keep everything in due harmony to give proper contrasts & variety of real life.'
Century: 1850-1899
Date: unknown
Country: England
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:Leslie Stephen
Age Adult (18-100+)
Gender Male
Date of Birth 28 Nov 1832
Socio-economic group: Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation: Literary critic, historian, journalist, biographer
Religion: Christian
Country of origin: England
Country of experience: England
Listeners present if any:
(e.g. family, servants, friends, workmates)
n/a
Additional comments: n/a

 

Text Being Read:

Author: unknown
Title: [French novels]
Genre: Fiction
Form of Text: Print: Book
Publication details: n/a
Provenance: unknown

 

Source Information:

Record ID: 4032  
Source - Print  
  Author: Leslie Stephen
  Editor: John Bicknell
  Title: The Selected Letters of Leslie Stephen Vol. 1 1864-1882
  Place of Publication: Ohio State University Press
  Date of Publication: 1996
  Vol: 1
  Page: 54
  Additional comments: Letter from Stephen to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (18/8/1867)

Citation: Leslie Stephen, John Bicknell (ed.), The Selected Letters of Leslie Stephen Vol. 1 1864-1882 (Ohio State University Press, 1996), 1, p. 54, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/reading/recorddetails2.php?id=4032, accessed: 28 March 2024

Additional comments:

 

 

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