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

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
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Listings for Reader:  

Molly

 

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Walter Scott : 

'Our parents had accumulated a large number of books, which we were allowed to browse in as much as we liked.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Charles Dickens : 

'Our parents had accumulated a large number of books, which we were allowed to browse in as much as we liked.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

William Makepeace Thackeray : 

'Our parents had accumulated a large number of books, which we were allowed to browse in as much as we liked.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Charles and Mary Lamb : 

'Our parents had accumulated a large number of books, which we were allowed to browse in as much as we liked.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

George Eliot : 

'Our parents had accumulated a large number of books, which we were allowed to browse in as much as we liked.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Alfred Tennyson : 

'Our parents had accumulated a large number of books, which we were allowed to browse in as much as we liked.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Unknown

  

George Gordon Noel, Lord Byron : 

'Our parents had accumulated a large number of books, which we were allowed to browse in as much as we liked.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Samuel Taylor Coleridge : 

'Our parents had accumulated a large number of books, which we were allowed to browse in as much as we liked.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Benjamin Disraeli : 

'Our parents had accumulated a large number of books, which we were allowed to browse in as much as we liked.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

William Makepeace Thackeray : Vanity Fair

'Our parents had accumulated a large number of books, which we were allowed to browse in as much as we liked.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : Bible (Old Testament), the

'mother would summon me to her side and open an enormous Bible. It was invariably at the Old Testament, and I had to read aloud the strange doings of the Patriarchs. No comments were made, religious or otherwise, my questions were fobbed off...and occasionally mother's pencil, with which she guided me to the words, would travel rapidly over several verses, and I heard a muttered "never mind about that".'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : 

'My English history was derived from a small book in small print that dealt with the characters of the kings at some length.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : A Child's History of Rome

'Not as a lesson, but for sheer pleasure, did I browse in "A Child's History of Rome", a book full of good stories.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Dr Brewer : Guide to Science

'For scientific notions I had Dr. Brewer's "Guide to Science", in the form of a catechism.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : Rosy's Voyage Around the World

'Of course I had a shelf for my books..."Rosy's Voyage Around the World" was prime favourite.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : The Little Gypsy

'My own treasures are nearly all with me still, showing only the honourable marks of age and continual reading...'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Lewis Carroll : Alice in Wonderland

'"Alice in Wonderland" we all knew practically by heart.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Lewis Carroll : Through the Looking Glass

'one of the red-letter days of my life was a birthday when I received from my father "Through the Looking Glass". I...buried myself in it all afternoon, my pleasure enhanced by the knowledge that there was a boring vistor downstairs to whom I ought to be making myself agreeable!'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : The Story without an End

'The story itself was an allegory, and was too subtle for us, but it is impossible to describe the endless pleasure given us by those full-page pictures.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : 

'It was entirely due to its colour that another book became my constant companion. This was an illustrated Scripture text-book, given to me on my seventh birthday, and still preserved...some of the little pictures are very crude, but most of them, especially such short commands as "Walk Honestly, "Fear God"...are tasteful enough.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : The Safe Compass

'Some of the boys' prizes fell into my keeping, handed to me in disgust. One of these, "The Safe Compass", afforded me many a joyful hour. It took the gloomiest views as to the fate of the disobedient. But if you left out everything that was in italics, and altered the endings of the plots, the stories were good.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : The Peep of the Day

'Many people of my age must have imbibed their early religious notions from the same book that I did.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : 

'I was placed in the lowest class with three other little girls of my own age, who were reading aloud the story of Richard Arkwright.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : Little Arthur

'My new history book was "Little Arthur", which one could read like a delightful story.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

William Shakespeare : The Tempest

'We spent a whole term on the first two scenes of "The Tempest".'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Daniel Defoe : Robinson Crusoe

[Permitted Sunday reading for the children of the family]

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Thomas Hughes : Tom Brown

[Permitted Sunday reading for the children of the family]

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Hans Christian Andersen : Tales

[Permitted Sunday reading for the children of the family].

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

John Bunyan : Pilgrim's Progress, The

[Permitted Sunday reading for the children of the family].

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : Good Words for the Young

[Permitted Sunday reading for the children of the family].

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Serial / periodical, Bound volumes

  

 : The Dark Journey

'Again and again I turned to something entitled "The Dark Journey", only to find it was an account of one's digestion. You may wonder why I did this more than once, but I always hoped that I had been mistaken, and that such a splendid title must mean a good story.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Serial / periodical, Bound volumes of a periodical

  

 : Henry Milner

'We all liked certain parts of a three-volume story called "Henry Milner"...I believe he never did anything wrong, but his school-fellows did, and all their gay activities shone like misdeeds in a pious world.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : The Narrow Way

'I concluded that no one could really be as good as this book wanted and that it was a fearful waste of time.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : 

'Among the treasures we rooted out...were an illustrated Prayer Book, gone quite brown with age and damp. When tired of reading we could get laughter out of its absurd pictures.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

John Foxe : Book of Martyrs

'Foxe's "Book of Martyrs" was another feast for us.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Unknown

  

Robert Michael Ballantyne : The Iron Horse

'Surely no book was ever read and re-read and talked over as that first new volume, although we went on to buy many more.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : March Winds and April Showers bring forth May Flowers

'I can still remember the deep interest I took in a long serial story.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Serial / periodical

  

 : Cassell's Family Magazine

'Cassell's Magazine provided stronger meat...and I think every word of it found some reader in the family.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Serial / periodical

  

Jules Verne : Journey to the Centre of the Earth

'he saw me one day deep in "A Journey to the Interior of the Earth" [sic].'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

 : The Heir of Redclyffe

'Wedding-bells were the usual end to our stories, of which "The Heir of Redclyffe" was a fair sample. Needless to say I had no notion of any difficulties after the bells had pealed.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Unknown

  

William Makepeace Thackeray : Vanity Fair

1"Vanity Fair" I read without the faintest suspicion of the intent of the note in the bouquet, or of Rawdon's reason for knocking down Lord Steyne.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

Charlotte Bronte : Jane Eyre

'One winter evening I was sitting over the fire engrossed in "Jane Eyre"...'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Book

  

William Gladstone : 

'I struggled through one [essay/article] by Gladstone just, in order to be able to say I had, but honestly I understood no single sentence.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Mary Vivian (Molly) Hughes      Print: Serial / periodical

  

Charles Dickens : A tale of two cities

'The only social event she goes to is the Sunday afternoon tea run by her chapel. Again she has not made many friends here, but she seems to enjoy going. Apart from that, she spends her evenings writing letters, sewing, and reading. Molly reads far more than most of the girls-she always brings a book to read in the canteen. She does not just read idly for pleasure, but has a real thought-out attitude toward it, and regards it as a worthwhile occupation. At the time of writing she is reading "A Tale of Two Cities", and intends to have read the whole of Dickens by the end of the summer.'

Century: 1900-1945     Reader/Listener/Group: Molly      Print: Book

  

Molly MacCarthy : autobiographical essay

6 March 1920: 'On Thursday, dine with the MacCarthys, & the first Memoir Club meeting [hosted by MacCarthys]. A highly interesting occasion. Seven people read -- & Lord knows what I didnt read into their reading. Sydney [Waterlow] [...] signified as much by reading us a dream [...] altogether a queer, self-conscious, self analytic performance [...] Clive purely objective; Nessa starting matter of fact: then overcome by the emotional depths to be traversed; & unable to read aloud what she had written. Duncan fantastic & tongue -- not tied -- tongue enchanted. Molly literary about tendencies & William Morris, carefully composed at first, & even formal: suddenly saying "Oh this is absurd -- I can't go on" shuffling all her sheets; beginning on the wrong page; firmly but waveringly, & carrying through to the end [...] Roger well composed; story of a coachman who stole geraniums & went to prison.'

Century: 1900-1945     Reader/Listener/Group: Molly MacCarthy      Manuscript: Unknown

 

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