Record Number: 26566

---

Reading Experience:

Evidence:

From the Commonplace Book of Mrs Austen of Ensbury: Transcription of 'Epitaph In the Church Yard of Brading, in the Isle of Wight': 'Forgive blest shade the tributary tear / That mourns thy exit from a world like this;/ Forgive the wish that would have kept thee here,/ And stay’d thy progress to the seats of bliss. No more confin’d to grov’ling scenes of night, / No more a tenant spent in mortal day:/ Now should we rather hail thy glorious flight, / And trace thy journey to the realms of day.'

Century:

1800-1849, 1850-1899

Date:

Between 1 Jan 1814 and 18 Apr 1884

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Brading
county: Isle of Wight, Hants
specific address: Churchyard

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:

Catherine Austen

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

1794

Socio-Economic Group:

Clergy (includes all denominations)

Occupation:

clergyman's wife

Religion:

Anglican

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:

Title:

Epitaph

Genre:

Poetry, epitaph

Form of Text:

Print: tombstone

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

read in situ

---

Source Information:

Record ID:

26566

Source:

Manuscript

Author:

Mrs [Catherine] Austen

Title:

Commonplace Book

Location:

Private Collection

Call No:

n/a

Page/Folio:

9

Citation:

Mrs [Catherine] Austen, Commonplace Book Private Collection, p. n/a, p. 9, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/RED/record_details.php?id=26566, accessed: 26 April 2024

---

Additional Comments:

Mrs Austen's exact birthdate is not known. From her gravestone: 'Died April 18th 1884 in her 90th year'. This suggests she was born in 1794. The commonplace book contains references to events in 1816 and 1835, and several poems that refer to the Battle of Waterloo (1815). Since the hand is that of an adult, and the references to Waterloo appear early in the volume, but not at the very start, we have dated the reading experiences between 1814 and 1884, although this dating is tentative and it is likely that the reading experiences happened within a much narrower timeframe. For further information and permission to quote this source, contact the Reading Experience Database (http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/contacts.php).