Record Number: 17628

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

Elizabeth Barrett Browning to Anna Brownell Jameson, 21 November 1846: 'We have seen your professor once since you left us [...] when he came in one evening & caught us reading, sighing, yawning over Nicolo de' Lapi [sic], a romance by the son in law of Manzoni. Before we could speak, he called it "excellent, tres beau," one of their very best romances .. upon which, of course dear Robert could not bear to offend his literary & national sensibilities by a doubt even. [italics]I[end italics], not being so humane, thought that any suffering reader would be justified (under the rack-wheel) in crying out against such a book, as the dullest, heaviest, stupidest, lengthiest. Did you ever read it? If not, [italics]dont[end italics] [...] Robert in his zeal for Italy [...] tried to persuade me at first [...] that "really Ba, it was'n't so bad" [...] but after two or three chapters, the dulness grew too strong, for even his benevolence, & the yawning catastrophe overthrew him as completely as it ever did me, though we both resolved to hold on by the stirrup to the end of the two volumes.'

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

Between 16 Oct 1846 and 21 Nov 1846

Country:

Italy

Time

evening

Place:

n/a

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:

Reading Group:

Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Unknown

Date of Birth:

n/a

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Writers

Religion:

various

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

Italy

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Marchese Massimo Tapparelli D'Azeglio

Title:

Niccolo de' Lapi

Genre:

Fiction, History

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

1841

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

17628

Source:

Print

Author:

n/a

Editor:

Philip Kelley and Scott Lewis

Title:

The Brownings' Correspondence

Place of Publication:

Winfield

Date of Publication:

1998

Vol:

14

Page:

47

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Philip Kelley and Scott Lewis (ed.), The Brownings' Correspondence, (Winfield, 1998), 14, p. 47, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=17628, accessed: 07 January 2025

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Additional Comments:

None