Reading Experience Database
1450-1945

Basic Search

Advanced Search

Record 8169

Reading Experience:

Evidence:
'On presenting ourselves at a little shop in the Market Place, a popular circulating library, the old spectacle-nosed keeper told us, that his invariable rule was, before boys [underlined] were entrusted with his books, to have some one as surety for the payment - he accepted my father as such, and registered my name. The old man now asked what book I would like, but being unacquainted with works of fiction, I could not tell him; he handed to us a catalogue which only made the choice more bewildering. I at length selected one, which from its title I thought would be very mysterious - it was "Splendid Misery". This I took home; it was on a Saturday evening. With the first broad light of morning, I arose and greedily devoured several chapters of the first volume.'
Century: 1800-1849
Date: Between 1 Jan 1813 and 31 Dec 1814
Country: England
Time: morning: Sunday
Place: city: Hull
location in dwelling: home
   
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:Christopher Thomson
Age Child (0-17)
Gender Male
Date of Birth 25 Dec 1799
Socio-economic group: Labourer (non-agricultural)
Occupation: Apprentice ship builder
Religion: Methodist
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: Thomas Skinner
Title: Splendid misery
Genre: Fiction
Form of Text: Print: Book
Publication details: n/a
Provenance: Borrowed (circulating library)

 

Source Information:

Record ID: 8169  
Source - Print  
  Author: Christopher Thomson
  Editor: n/a
  Title: Autobiography of an artisan
  Place of Publication: London
  Date of Publication: 1847
  Vol: n/a
  Page: 65
  Additional comments: n/a

Citation: Christopher Thomson, Autobiography of an artisan (London, 1847), p. 65, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/reading/recorddetails2.php?id=8169, accessed: 28 March 2024

Additional comments:

 

 

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