Record Number: 1054

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'by age twenty [Mary Smith] had read and understood George Payne's Elements of Mental and Moral Science, Thomas Brown's Moral Philosophy, and Richard Whateley's Logic. But two authors in paticular offered magnificent revelations. First there was Emerson on Nature; and later, as a governess for a Scotby leatherworks owner, she discovered Thomas Carlyle: "Emerson and he henceforth became my two great masters of thought for the rest of my life. Carlyle's gospel of Work and exposure of Shams, and his universal onslaught on the nothings and appearances of society, gave strength and life to my vague but true enthusiasm. They proved a new Bible of blessedness to my eager soul, as they did thousands beside, who had become weary of much of the vapid literature of the time".'

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

From: 1842

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Scotby

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

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Mary Smith

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

1822

Socio-Economic Group:

Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder

Occupation:

governess, later schoolmistress

Religion:

Nonconformist

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Thomas Carlyle

Title:

n/a

Genre:

Fiction, Essays / Criticism, Politics, Philosophy

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

1054

Source:

Print

Author:

Jonathan Rose

Editor:

n/a

Title:

The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes

Place of Publication:

New Haven

Date of Publication:

2001

Vol:

n/a

Page:

45

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Jonathan Rose, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes, (New Haven, 2001), p. 45, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=1054, accessed: 22 November 2024

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Additional Comments:

See Mary Smith, 'The Autobiography of Mary Smith, Schoolmistress and Nonconformist' (London, 1892).