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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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Record Number: 1496


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

Dorothy Wordsworth to Mary Hutchinson, 1 February 1813: 'Willy [Wordsworth, the poet's son] is now beside me ... He has taken up a book, and there he reads fragments of a hundred little songs - about Cock Robin, pussy cat and all sorts of things. he is very entertaining; but one half of the heart is sad while the other laughs at his strange fancies.'

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

1 Feb 1813

Country:

England

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 reactive unknown
single serial unknown


Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Willy Wordsworth

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

1810

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

child

Religion:

Church of England

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

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

Dorothy Wordsworth (aunt of William)


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Title:

[nursery rhymes]

Genre:

Poetry, Children's Lit, Miscellany / Anthology

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

owned


Source Information:

Record ID:

1496

Source:

Print

Author:

William and Dorothy Wordsworth

Editor:

Ernest De Selincourt

Title:

The Letters of William and Dorothy Wordsworth: The Middle Years 1806-1811

Place of Publication:

Oxford

Date of Publication:

1970

Vol:

2

Page:

80

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Ernest De Selincourt (ed.), The Letters of William and Dorothy Wordsworth: The Middle Years 1806-1811 (Oxford, 1970), 2, p. 80, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/RED/record_details.php?id=1496, accessed: 29 March 2024


Additional Comments:

Not clear whether child (aged only three) reading text actually in book, or making up own, or combination.

   
   
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