Listings for Reader:
Patricia Beer
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: Ursula's Last Term
girls' school stories came in for heavy and sustained attack, and at one stage in my life I painfully hankered after them. There was one in particular, 'Ursula's Last Term', which was in the school library and which I ordered almost every week on my library list and read in secret. It was an addiction...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
John Bunyan : Pilgrim's Progress
My recollection of 'The Pilgrim's Progress' is a little clearer, as it was the impression of much physical activity and play, such as springing out at Sheila from dark corners pretending to be Apollyon
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Kenneth Grahame : The Wind in the Willows
For some reason we were never confronted with the famous animal books in childhood -neither "The Wind in the Willows" nor "Winne-the-Pooh", nor any Beatrix Potter -and when I did meet the works of Kenneth Grahame and A.A. Milne, at the age of twelve or thirteen, I was past them to the extent that I read from a height, like a connoisseur, with no involvement, accepting with sophistication rather than naivety the clothing, the speecg and the human motives of the animals.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
A.A. Milne : Winnie the Pooh
For some reason we were never confronted with the famous animal books in childhood -neither "The Wind in the Willows" nor "Winne-the-Pooh", nor any Beatrix Potter -and when I did meet the works of Kenneth Grahame and A.A. Milne, at the age of twelve or thirteen, I was past them to the extent that I read from a height, like a connoisseur, with no involvement, accepting with sophistication rather than naivety the clothing, the speecg and the human motives of the animals.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Robert Louis Stevenson : Treasure Island
Either at school or at home I read all the classics considered necessary for children: 'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', 'Little Women', 'David Copperfield', 'Ivanhoe', 'Robinson Crusoe'. I suppose I enjoyed them; I certainly did not resent or avoid them. Very occasionally some incident would seem to connect with my own life: the doings of the Spanish Inquisition in 'Westward Ho!' for example, fitted in exactly with what I had heard about Roman Catholics. But on the whole the themes appeared completely abstract and impersonal, even when the author intended a message to strike home. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did not cause me a moment's concern for the plight of Negro slaves in America, and neither did 'The Water Babies' for the sufferings of the child chimney-sweeps, not because these situations had been done away with, but because no book stirred me in that way...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Robert Louis Stevenson : Kidnapped
Either at school or at home I read all the classics considered necessary for children: 'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', 'Little Women', 'David Copperfield', 'Ivanhoe', 'Robinson Crusoe'. I suppose I enjoyed them; I certainly did not resent or avoid them. Very occasionally some incident would seem to connect with my own life: the doings of the Spanish Inquisition in 'Westward Ho!' for example, fitted in exactly with what I had heard about Roman Catholics. But on the whole the themes appeared completely abstract and impersonal, even when the author intended a message to strike home. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did not cause me a moment's concern for the plight of Negro slaves in America, and neither did 'The Water Babies' for the sufferings of the child chimney-sweeps, not because these situations had been done away with, but because no book stirred me in that way...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Louisa May Alcott : Little Women
Either at school or at home I read all the classics considered necessary for children: 'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', 'Little Women', 'David Copperfield', 'Ivanhoe', 'Robinson Crusoe'. I suppose I enjoyed them; I certainly did not resent or avoid them. Very occasionally some incident would seem to connect with my own life: the doings of the Spanish Inquisition in 'Westward Ho!' for example, fitted in exactly with what I had heard about Roman Catholics. But on the whole the themes appeared completely abstract and impersonal, even when the author intended a message to strike home. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did not cause me a moment's concern for the plight of Negro slaves in America, and neither did 'The Water Babies' for the sufferings of the child chimney-sweeps, not because these situations had been done away with, but because no book stirred me in that way...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Charles Dickens : David Copperfield
Either at school or at home I read all the classics considered necessary for children: 'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', 'Little Women', 'David Copperfield', 'Ivanhoe', 'Robinson Crusoe'. I suppose I enjoyed them; I certainly did not resent or avoid them. Very occasionally some incident would seem to connect with my own life: the doings of the Spanish Inquisition in 'Westward Ho!' for example, fitted in exactly with what I had heard about Roman Catholics. But on the whole the themes appeared completely abstract and impersonal, even when the author intended a message to strike home. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did not cause me a moment's concern for the plight of Negro slaves in America, and neither did 'The Water Babies' for the sufferings of the child chimney-sweeps, not because these situations had been done away with, but because no book stirred me in that way...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Walter Scott : Ivanhoe
Either at school or at home I read all the classics considered necessary for children: 'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', 'Little Women', 'David Copperfield', 'Ivanhoe', 'Robinson Crusoe'. I suppose I enjoyed them; I certainly did not resent or avoid them. Very occasionally some incident would seem to connect with my own life: the doings of the Spanish Inquisition in 'Westward Ho!' for example, fitted in exactly with what I had heard about Roman Catholics. But on the whole the themes appeared completely abstract and impersonal, even when the author intended a message to strike home. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did not cause me a moment's concern for the plight of Negro slaves in America, and neither did 'The Water Babies' for the sufferings of the child chimney-sweeps, not because these situations had been done away with, but because no book stirred me in that way...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Daniel Defoe : Robinson Crusoe
Either at school or at home I read all the classics considered necessary for children: 'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', 'Little Women', 'David Copperfield', 'Ivanhoe', 'Robinson Crusoe'. I suppose I enjoyed them; I certainly did not resent or avoid them. Very occasionally some incident would seem to connect with my own life: the doings of the Spanish Inquisition in 'Westward Ho!' for example, fitted in exactly with what I had heard about Roman Catholics. But on the whole the themes appeared completely abstract and impersonal, even when the author intended a message to strike home. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did not cause me a moment's concern for the plight of Negro slaves in America, and neither did 'The Water Babies' for the sufferings of the child chimney-sweeps, not because these situations had been done away with, but because no book stirred me in that way...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Charles Kingsley : Westward Ho!
Either at school or at home I read all the classics considered necessary for children: 'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', 'Little Women', 'David Copperfield', 'Ivanhoe', 'Robinson Crusoe'. I suppose I enjoyed them; I certainly did not resent or avoid them. Very occasionally some incident would seem to connect with my own life: the doings of the Spanish Inquisition in 'Westward Ho!' for example, fitted in exactly with what I had heard about Roman Catholics. But on the whole the themes appeared completely abstract and impersonal, even when the author intended a message to strike home. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did not cause me a moment's concern for the plight of Negro slaves in America, and neither did 'The Water Babies' for the sufferings of the child chimney-sweeps, not because these situations had been done away with, but because no book stirred me in that way...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Harriet Beecher Stowe : Uncle Tom's Cabin
Either at school or at home I read all the classics considered necessary for children: 'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', 'Little Women', 'David Copperfield', 'Ivanhoe', 'Robinson Crusoe'. I suppose I enjoyed them; I certainly did not resent or avoid them. Very occasionally some incident would seem to connect with my own life: the doings of the Spanish Inquisition in 'Westward Ho!' for example, fitted in exactly with what I had heard about Roman Catholics. But on the whole the themes appeared completely abstract and impersonal, even when the author intended a message to strike home. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did not cause me a moment's concern for the plight of Negro slaves in America, and neither did 'The Water Babies' for the sufferings of the child chimney-sweeps, not because these situations had been done away with, but because no book stirred me in that way...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Charles Kingsley : The Water Babies
Either at school or at home I read all the classics considered necessary for children: 'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', 'Little Women', 'David Copperfield', 'Ivanhoe', 'Robinson Crusoe'. I suppose I enjoyed them; I certainly did not resent or avoid them. Very occasionally some incident would seem to connect with my own life: the doings of the Spanish Inquisition in 'Westward Ho!' for example, fitted in exactly with what I had heard about Roman Catholics. But on the whole the themes appeared completely abstract and impersonal, even when the author intended a message to strike home. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did not cause me a moment's concern for the plight of Negro slaves in America, and neither did 'The Water Babies' for the sufferings of the child chimney-sweeps, not because these situations had been done away with, but because no book stirred me in that way...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
: unknown [missionary book about China]
Once or twice some description of physical pain broke through my detachment: the detailed account of the binding of a young girl's feet in a missionary book about China, or the evocation of the agony, like walking on a thousand knives, endured by the mermaid who was given human legs. The story of 'The Little Mermaid' was in fact one which did make me feel and understand. The hopelessness of a relationship between two people born in different elements was somehow an emotion which I could grasp to the point of distress and one which came back to me in adult life with a sense of complete continuity. But this understanding was almost an aberration.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Hans Christian Anderson : The Little Mermaid
Once or twice some description of physical pain broke through my detachment: the detailed account of the binding of a young girl's feet in a missionary book about China, or the evocation of the agony, like walking on a thousand knives, endured by the mermaid who was given human legs. The story of 'The Little Mermaid' was in fact one which did make me feel and understand. The hopelessness of a relationship between two people born in different elements was somehow an emotion which I could grasp to the point of distress and one which came back to me in adult life with a sense of complete continuity. But this understanding was almost an aberration.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Hans Christian Anderson : The Ugly Duckling
In 'The Ugly Duckling' the meaning was something that in my own way I thought about much of the time: I was destined for a higher sphere and would be appreciated when I achieved it; and yet I did not see it in the story or make the connection at all. In fact I interpretted it in the most banal and inaccurate fashion as saying that the plain would become pretty.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
: The Bible
Of course the book I read most consistently throughout these years was the Bible, but its influence on me, though obviously great, was not directly literary. I never thought of it as a book at all: as far as I was concerned, it might well have been called 'The Bible Designed NOT to be Read as Literature'.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Hesba Stretton : Little Meg's Children
Upon the age of ten or eleven I moved in a world evoked by a series of volumes published by the Religious Tract Society in the Edwardian period. The outstanding authors on the Society's list were Hesba Stretton, Mrs O.F. Walton and Amy Le Feuvre. I knew nearly all their books, but three of them stood out, and I remember them most vividly to this day: 'Little Meg's Children', 'Jessica's First Prayer', and Christie's Old Organ'. Most of the titles, incidentally, were phrased possessively.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Hesba Stretton : Jessica's First Prayer
Upon the age of ten or eleven I moved in a world evoked by a series of volumes published by the Religious Tract Society in the Edwardian period. The outstanding authors on the Society's list were Hesba Stretton, Mrs O.F. Walton and Amy Le Feuvre. I knew nearly all their books, but three of them stood out, and I remember them most vividly to this day: 'Little Meg's Children', 'Jessica's First Prayer', and Christie's Old Organ'. Most of the titles, incidentally, were phrased possessively.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Mrs O.F. Walton : Christie's Old Organ; or, Home Sweet Home
Upon the age of ten or eleven I moved in a world evoked by a series of volumes published by the Religious Tract Society in the Edwardian period. The outstanding authors on the Society's list were Hesba Stretton, Mrs O.F. Walton and Amy Le Feuvre. I knew nearly all their books, but three of them stood out, and I remember them most vividly to this day: 'Little Meg's Children', 'Jessica's First Prayer', and Christie's Old Organ'. Most of the titles, incidentally, were phrased possessively.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
Amy Le Feuvre : [various, unknown]
Upon the age of ten or eleven I moved in a world evoked by a series of volumes published by the Religious Tract Society in the Edwardian period. The outstanding authors on the Society's list were Hesba Stretton, Mrs O.F. Walton and Amy Le Feuvre. I knew nearly all their books, but three of them stood out, and I remember them most vividly to this day: 'Little Meg's Children', 'Jessica's First Prayer', and Christie's Old Organ'. Most of the titles, incidentally, were phrased possessively.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
L.M. Montgomery : Anne of Green Gables
After the age of ten, I turned to a series of works which were no less goody-goody, though the svaing blood of Jesus had been transmogrified into a more abstract sense of decency. All the good characters in the 'Anne' and 'Emily' books of L.M. Montgomery were churchgoers, their religious beliefs clearly being basic to their mode of life...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
L.M. Montgomery : Emily of New Moon
After the age of ten, I turned to a series of works which were no less goody-goody, though the svaing blood of Jesus had been transmogrified into a more abstract sense of decency. All the good characters in the 'Anne' and 'Emily' books of L.M. Montgomery were churchgoers, their religious beliefs clearly being basic to their mode of life...
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
D.K. Broster : The Flight of the Heron
It was after our second family holiday in the West Highlands of Scotland, when I was thirteen, that someone recommended that we should all read 'The Flight of the Heron' by D.K. Broster, as it dealt with that part of the country at the time of the '45 rebellion. My mother bought it, and the most exciting period of my reading life began. I was possessed by a rapture, an ecstacy, for which nothing in all my experience, and certainly not religion, had prepared me. I remember the actual surroundings in which I sat reading the book, on a bench in Phear Park, for example, on a sunny Saturday morning.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
D.K. Broster : The Dark Mile
My mother read it [The Flight of the Heron] with pleasure, but not with the passion I felt but which it seems I successfully hid from her. She soon got on to the sequels, 'The Gleam in the North' and 'The Dark Mile', and mentioned casually one day that she had glanced at the last page of 'The Dark Mile' and seen that 'he was mashing someone called Olivia' -I recoiled. Mashing. My faithful Ewen, who had married Alison in the first book. But it was all right. It was his cousin Ian. Mother could not tell the difference.
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Patricia Beer Print: Book
D.K. Broster : The Gleam in the North
My mother read it [The Flight of the Heron] with pleasure, but not with the passion I felt but which it seems I successfully hid from her. She soon got on to the sequels, 'The Gleam in the North' and 'The Dark Mile', and mentioned casually one day that she had glanced at the last page of 'The Dark Mile' and seen that 'he was mashing someone called Olivia' -I recoiled. Mashing. My faithful Ewen, who had married Alison in the first book. But it was all right. It was his cousin Ian. Mother could not tell the difference.
