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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: 19156


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'[Having visited Haworth, Gaskell acquired MSS of 'The Professor', 'Emma'], & by far the most extraordinary of all, a packet about the size of a lady's travelling writing case, full of paper books of different sizes, from the one I enclose upwards to the full 1/2 sheet size, but all in this indescribably fine writing. - Mr Gaskell says they would make more than 50 vols of print, - but they are the wildest & most incoherent things, as far as we have examined them, [italics] all [end italics] purporting to be written, or addressed to some member of the Wellesley family. They give one the idea of creative power carried to the verge of insanity. Just lately Mr M Milnes gave me some MS. of Blake's, the painters to read, - & the two MSS (his & C.B.'s) are curiously alike. But what I want to know is if a photograph could be taken to give some idea of the finness of the writing'.

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

Until: 25 Jul 1856

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 in company unknown
single serial unknown


Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

29 Sep 1810

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

writer, clergyman's wife

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

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

n/a


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

William Blake

Title:

[manuscripts]

Genre:

n/a

Form of Text:

Manuscript: Unknown

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

borrowed (other)
borrowed from Mr Monckton Milnes


Source Information:

Record ID:

19156

Source:

Print

Author:

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Editor:

J.A.V. Chapple

Title:

Letters of Mrs Gaskell, The

Place of Publication:

Manchester

Date of Publication:

1997

Vol:

n/a

Page:

398

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, J.A.V. Chapple (ed.), Letters of Mrs Gaskell, The (Manchester, 1997), p. 398, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/RED/record_details.php?id=19156, accessed: 25 April 2024


Additional Comments:

Additional editor Arthur Pollard. Letter from Elizabeth Gaskell to George Smith. She was writing her Life of Bronte.

   
   
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