Record Number: 21823

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Mrs Vyner, a stranger,' to Alfred Tennyson, from River, New South Wales, 1855: 'I fancy a poet's heart must be so large and loving that he can feel for and forgive even folly. Folly it may be, and yet I [italics]must[end italics] write and thank you with a true and grateful heart for the happy moments your thoughts and your pen have given me. I am in the wildest bush of Australia, far away from all that makes life beautiful and endurable excepting the strong and stern sense of duty, the consciousness that where God has placed us is our lot to be, and that our most becoming posture is to accept our destiny with grateful humility. You must let me tell you how in a lonely home among the mountains, with my young children asleep, my husband absent, no sound to be heard but the cry of the wild dog or the wail of the curlew, no lock or bolt to guard our solitary hut [...] I have turned (next to God's book) to you as a friend, and read far into the night till my lot seemed light and a joy seemed cast around my very menial toils: then I have said, "God bless the poet and put still some beautiful words and thoughts into his heart," and the burthen of life becomes pleasant to me or at least easy.'

Century:

1800-1849, 1850-1899

Date:

Between 1 Jan 1855 and 31 Dec 1855

Country:

Australia

Time

n/anight

Place:

county: New South Wales

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:

Mrs Vyner

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

n/a

Socio-Economic Group:

Unknown/NA

Occupation:

n/a

Religion:

Christian

Country of Origin:

n/a

Country of Experience:

Australia

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Alfred Tennyson

Title:

n/a

Genre:

Poetry

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

21823

Source:

Print

Author:

Hallam Tennyson

Editor:

n/a

Title:

Alfred Lord Tennyson: A Memoir by His Son

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

1897

Vol:

1

Page:

407

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Hallam Tennyson, Alfred Lord Tennyson: A Memoir by His Son, (London, 1897), 1, p. 407, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=21823, accessed: 22 December 2024

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Additional Comments:

Author of source notes: 'My father was deeply touched by this letter: and kept it among the things he most prized' (see p.407 n..1 in source).