Record Number: 29377
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'On the sewing machine lay Jack's library book, a dirty brown object disguised in a uniform binding with gilt numbers on the back. I picked it up, opened it at the first page, and began to read The Swiss Family Robinson. It is an understatement to say that I began to read. I stepped into another life. I was one of the family on the wrecked ship, passing through the barrier of words, enlarging my small suburban existence by this new dimension.'
Century:1900-1945
Date:Between Feb 1900 and Apr 1900
Country:England
Timeevening: Before bed-time
Place:city: London
Type of Experience(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:Child (0-17)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:26 Mar 1893
Socio-Economic Group:Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder
Father was post office clerk. Mother primary school teacher.
In adulthood, writer and editor
Religion:n/a
Country of Origin:England
Country of Experience:England
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:The Swiss Family Robinson
Genre:Fiction, Children's Lit
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceborrowed (public library)
Source Information:
Record ID:29377
Source:Richard Church
Editor:n/a
Title:Over the Bridge
Place of Publication:London
Date of Publication:1955
Vol:n/a
Page:94
Additional Comments:
n/a
Citation:
Richard Church, Over the Bridge, (London, 1955), p. 94, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=29377, accessed: 18 July 2024
Additional Comments:
The 7 year old Church had just been given spectacles and he discovers that he can not only, for the first time, see the clock-face (it is twenty past six) but that he can read the words on the page of the book.