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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: 16840


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'I bought Darwin's last book in despair, for I knew I could generally read Darwin, but it was a failure.'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

1 Sep 1873

Country:

Scotland

Time

n/a

Place:

specific address: 17 Heriot Row, Edinburgh

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


Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Robert Louis Stevenson

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

13 Nov 1870

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

student

Religion:

atheist

Country of Origin:

Scotland

Country of Experience:

Scotland

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

letter to Frances Sitwell


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Charles Darwin

Title:

The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals

Genre:

Science, Natural history

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

first published 1872

Provenance

owned


Source Information:

Record ID:

16840

Source:

Print

Author:

Robert Louis Stevenson

Editor:

Bradford Booth

Title:

The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson

Place of Publication:

New Haven and London

Date of Publication:

1994

Vol:

1

Page:

287

Additional Comments:

additional editor Ernest Mehew

Citation:

Robert Louis Stevenson, Bradford Booth (ed.), The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson (New Haven and London, 1994), 1, p. 287, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/RED/record_details.php?id=16840, accessed: 26 April 2024


Additional Comments:

Although Darwin had published more recently than 1872, he had not brought out a book. Also the the rest of the letter suggests the subject matter of The Expression of the Emotions.

   
   
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