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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:  

Alexander Macneill

 

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 : Bible

'One day Maud stood in front of Grandfather's bookshelves in the parlour and made up her mind that she would read every book on them. There weren't all that many, even though Grandfather, himself, loved to read. He took a daily newspaper from Charlottetown and Grandmother had her Godey's Lady's Book magazine full of stories, poems and fashion drawings. There was the big family Bible. There was "The Pilgrim's Progress" - in those days, in every Christian household where there were books, there was a copy of Bunyan's inspirational allegory. There were other Christian books and missionary tracts, two volumes of the "History of the World", a few novels for adults, and one story for children entitled "Little Katey [sic] and Jolly Jim". Grandfather read the Bible aloud every night after supper, seated at the big table in the sitting room, and, afterwards, Maud was allowed to sit at the kitchen table with the light from the oil lamp shining on the book and read again the stories that gripped her... In time, she did read every book on Grandfather's shelves, but not during the summer she was six and a half, and she was well into her teens before she had any wish to read most of the novels or "The Pilgrim's Progress". But she spent many a blissful evening poring over the fashion drawings in the Godey's Lady's Book... The one book she read over and over was "Little Katey and Jolly Jim", because it was about children and not too full of moral lessons. She thought it was "simply scrumptious".'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Alexander Macneill      Print: Book

  

 : [newspaper from Charlottetown]

'One day Maud stood in front of Grandfather's bookshelves in the parlour and made up her mind that she would read every book on them. There weren't all that many, even though Grandfather, himself, loved to read. He took a daily newspaper from Charlottetown and Grandmother had her Godey's Lady's Book magazine full of stories, poems and fashion drawings. There was the big family Bible. There was "The Pilgrim's Progress" - in those days, in every Christian household where there were books, there was a copy of Bunyan's inspirational allegory. There were other Christian books and missionary tracts, two volumes of the "History of the World", a few novels for adults, and one story for children entitled "Little Katey [sic] and Jolly Jim". Grandfather read the Bible aloud every night after supper, seated at the big table in the sitting room, and, afterwards, Maud was allowed to sit at the kitchen table with the light from the oil lamp shining on the book and read again the stories that gripped her... In time, she did read every book on Grandfather's shelves, but not during the summer she was six and a half, and she was well into her teens before she had any wish to read most of the novels or "The Pilgrim's Progress". But she spent many a blissful evening poring over the fashion drawings in the Godey's Lady's Book... The one book she read over and over was "Little Katey and Jolly Jim", because it was about children and not too full of moral lessons. She thought it was "simply scrumptious".'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Alexander Macneill      Print: Newspaper, Daily

 

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