Switch to English Switch to French

The Open University  |   Study at the OU  |   About the OU  |   Research at the OU  |   Search the OU

Listen to this page  |   Accessibility

the experience of reading in Britain, from 1450 to 1945...

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
  RED International Logo

RED Australia logo


RED Canada logo
RED Netherlands logo
RED New Zealand logo

Record Number: 4423


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

I suppose I had read Hume's England when I wrote last; and I need not repeat my opinion of it. My perusal of the continuation - eight volumes, of history as it is called, by Tobias Smollett MD and others was a much harder and more unprofitable task.

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

Between 19 Nov 1817 and 15 Feb 1818

Country:

Scotland

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Kirkcaldy (probably)

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:

Thomas Carlyle

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

4 Dec 1795

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Writer / Academic

Religion:

Lapsed Calvinist

Country of Origin:

Scotland

Country of Experience:

Scotland

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

n/a


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Tobias Smollett

Title:

History of England

Genre:

History

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

Eight volume edition published 1801; 8 vols

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

4423

Source:

Print

Author:

Thomas Carlyle

Editor:

C R Sanders

Title:

The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle

Place of Publication:

Durham, South Carolina

Date of Publication:

1970

Vol:

1

Page:

120

Additional Comments:

Taken from letter from Carlyle to Robert Mitchell, dated 16th February 1818, written at Kirkcaldy. Pages 118-122 in this edition.

Citation:

Thomas Carlyle, C R Sanders (ed.), The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle (Durham, South Carolina, 1970), 1, p. 120, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/RED/record_details.php?id=4423, accessed: 29 March 2024


Additional Comments:

See RED ref 2929 for earlier reference to this work in letter dated 19th November 1817. Dates of reading experience are estimate based on the fact that in the earlier letter he is about to start Smollett's work. He does not say exactly when or where he reads it.

   
   
Green Turtle Web Design