Record Number: 13105

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

On one occasion, he came to me, flourishing a paper wildly in the air...I thought he had suddenly inherited a fortune, or that something of an extreme value had fallen in his way. 'What in heaven's name is it?' I asked. 'This, my friend. For years a certain critic has practically damned my works - said there was nothing really in them - and now this person, whose ability I have always admired despite the fact that I have suffered, has declared: "Stevenson has at last produced one of the best books of the season, and the claim of his friends seems fully justified, for the work is full of genius."' His face was all aglow with feverish excitement. 'Who is this wonderful critic, Stevenson, whose praise you so enjoy? And what bitter things has he said of you before?' 'We will drop the severe things, Moors. You would never guess, if I gave you all morning, who it is who has at last admitted me to be in the front rank of my profession. It is Mrs Oliphant, my dear sir - Mrs Oliphant!'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

Between 1 Nov 1888 and 31 Oct 1889

Country:

Scotland

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

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Margaret Oliphant

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

4 Apr 1828

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Writer

Religion:

Church of Scotland

Country of Origin:

Scotland

Country of Experience:

Scotland

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Robert Louis Stevenson

Title:

The Master of Ballantrae

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book, Serial / periodical

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

13105

Source:

Print

Author:

Harry J. Moors

Editor:

n/a

Title:

With Stevenson in Samoa

Place of Publication:

Boston

Date of Publication:

1910

Vol:

n/a

Page:

91-2

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Harry J. Moors, With Stevenson in Samoa (Boston, 1910), p. 91-2, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/RED/record_details.php?id=13105, accessed: 22 September 2023

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Additional Comments:

Margaret Oliphant review of Stevenson's 'The Master of Ballantrae' appeared in Blackwood's Magazine, November 1889. She read the book while it was appearing in serial form in Scribner's Magazine, November 1888 to October 1889.