Record Number: 27752

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'The rest of the evening was devoted to the works of Laurence Housman. Most of the members had seen & heard Mr Housman recently so there is no need to give any personal details & H.M. Wallis's encyclopaedic summary of Housman's artistic gifts & works put us in touch with the versatility of the man. "A charming man" says H.M.W. & so say all of us tho' I'm not sure whether someone did not say "a little effeminate". It was news perhaps to some to know that "An Englishwoman's Love Letters" published some years ago anonymously were by Housman. The bill of fare was varied & we were introduced to a novel, a St Francis play, a Victorian play & the Child's Guide to Knowledge. The choice whether conscious or otherwise gave us a rather curious result for in the main it dealt with the struggles & characters of women. Mrr & Mrs Evans dealt with The Sheepfold which relates the spirited history of a woman, 'Jane Sterling'. R.B. Graham chose out of all the St Francis cycle the coming of Sister Clair into the monkish community. Miss Marriage. E.E. Unwin & Alfred Rawlings gave a part-reading of "The Queen God Bless Her" which brought into prominence the foibles of Victoria and showed her in relation to two intimates, John Brown her favourite man-servant & Beaconsfield - her favourite minister. There was but little time left for R.H. Robson to display the fun of "A Child's Guide to Knowledge".'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Until: 12 May 1922

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Reading

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:

Reginald Robson

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Unknown

Date of Birth:

1877

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

n/a

Religion:

Quaker or associated with the Friends

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:

Laurence Housman

Title:

New Child's Guide to Knowledge

Genre:

Poetry

Form of Text:

Print: BookManuscript: Unknown

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

reading group

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Source Information:

Record ID:

27752

Source:

Manuscript

Author:

Ernest E. Unwin

Title:

XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 2 (1915-31)

Location:

private collection

Call No:

n/a

Page/Folio:

117-18

Additional Information:

n/a

Citation:

Ernest E. Unwin, XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 2 (1915-31), private collection, n/a, 117-18, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=27752, accessed: 25 November 2024

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Additional Comments:

Material by kind permission of the XII Book Club. For further information and permission to quote this source, contact the Reading Experience Database (http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/contacts.php).