Record Number: 12649

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'I endeavoured to counteract this depression by reading the Bible, the only book I had besides a Prayer Book and a Protestant manual called the "Narrow Way", and by forcing myself to concentrate on the structure of sentences as well as to try to comprehend the meaning of what I was reading. Since that time I have twice read the Bible from cover to cover in similar circumstances and for similar reasons. I was then too young and too fundamentally ignorant to understand and appreciate the Bible for what it is - that came later - but even then I was concious of its tremendous interest as a record of the strivings and sufferings of men in their efforts to pierce the veil and solve the ultimate mysteries of life and death... My early Bible reading under duress has not perhaps influenced my life for good in the objective sense of the word,... I know that the main reason I had for devoting so much time to such reading was with the idea of overcoming my moods of brooding and depression, and later to supress the vile thoughts and obscene imaginings which assailed me with evergrowing intensity in the silence and maddening loneliness of my cell.'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

unknown

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Winchester
specific address: Wincester Gaol
other location: in his cell

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:

Stuart Wood [pseud?]

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

27 Feb 1885

Socio-Economic Group:

Labourer (non-agricultural)

Occupation:

son of master craftsman, but habitual criminal

Religion:

family Methodist but becomes athiest

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:

[n/a]

Title:

Bible

Genre:

Bible

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

borrowed (institution library)

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Source Information:

Record ID:

12649

Source:

Print

Author:

Stuart Wood

Editor:

n/a

Title:

Shades of the prison house: A personal memoir

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

1932

Vol:

n/a

Page:

60

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Stuart Wood, Shades of the prison house: A personal memoir, (London, 1932), p. 60, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=12649, accessed: 21 December 2024

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Additional Comments:

None