Record Number: 1282
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
Henry Mayhew interviews a penny mouse-trap maker (cripple): "I found books often lull my pain... I can't afford them no, for I have no wish to incur any extraneous expense, while the weight of the labour lies on my family more than it does on myself. Over and over again, when I have been in acute pain with my thigh, a scientific book, or a work on history, or a volume of travels, would carry my thoughts far away ...I always had love of solid works. For an hour's light reading, I have often turned to a work of imagination, such as Milton's Paradise Lost, and Shakespeare's plays; but I prefer science to poetry... I think it is solely due to my taste for mechanics and my love of reading scientific books that I am able to live so comfortably as I do in my affliction."
Century:1800-1849, 1850-1899
Date:Between 1 Jan 1840 and 31 Dec 1859
Country:England
Timen/a
Place:city: London
specific address: Bethnal Green
location in dwelling: at his lodgings
(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:n/a
Socio-Economic Group:Labourer (non-agricultural)
Occupation:penny mouse-trap maker
Religion:n/a
Country of Origin:n/a
Country of Experience:England
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:Paradise Lost
Genre:Classics, Y
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceunknown
Source Information:
Record ID:1282
Source:Henry Mayhew
Editor:n/a
Title:London Labour and the London Poor
Place of Publication:London
Date of Publication:1861
Vol:3
Page:22
Additional Comments:
n/a
Citation:
Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, (London, 1861), 3, p. 22, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=1282, accessed: 30 December 2024
Additional Comments:
None
