Record Number: 30453
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
1. Apologies for absence were received from Margaret and A. Bruce Dilks, Alice
and Arnold Joselin, Sylvanus A. Reynolds, Kenneth F. Nicholson, Francis H. Knight.
[...]
3. The subject chosen was letters, and during the evening we heard a most
interesting variety of letters, the matter varying from good & energetic advice to a
brother-in-law by Abraham Lincoln, to the butcher of our dreams; from Zola’s
account of the Dreyfus case to the amazing all-round ability to destroy of Leonardo
da Vinci. Charming letters to children were read, and various letters to the public;
and yet through all this variety, links were found connecting one set of letters with
the next.
In the first section of the meeting the following were read:- Letters by
Leonardo da Vinci read by K. Waschauer, by Abraham Lincoln read by F. E.
Pollard, and a humorous selection read by Edith B. and Howard R. Smith.
4. We adjourned for refreshments.
5. The minutes of the last meeting were then read and signed.
[...]
7. The business being completed, we had a further selection of letters
Zola’s letters on the Dreyus case [read by] Howard R. Smith[.]
Letters written to children [read by] Muriel Stevens[.]
Captain Scott’s last letters [read by] Elsie D. Harrod[.]
J. M. Barrie’s letter to Mrs. Scott [read by] Rosamund Wallis[.]
Letters of Gertrude Bell [read by] Mary Stansfield[.]
8. The meeting ended with general thankfulness that we had not to spend the
coming night as Gertrude Bell had done on the mountains.'
Date:
23 May 1944
Country:England
Timeevening
Place:city: Reading
county: Berkshire
specific address: 64, Northcourt Avenue
(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary reactive unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:1872
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:Formerly schoolmaster, now occasional lecturer and supply teacher, and supported also by wife's unearned income
Religion:Quaker or associated with the Friends
Country of Origin:n/a
Country of Experience:England
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
Members of the XII Book Club
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:[unidentified letters]
Genre:Letters
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceunknown
Source Information:
Record ID:30453
Source:Manuscript
Author:n/a
Title:XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 5 (1944-1952)
Location:private collection
Call No:n/a
Page/Folio:8-9
Additional Information:
It is clear from the handwriting that Margaret Dilks, secretary to the XII Book Club from 1940 to 1970, was not the author of this set of minutes.
Citation:
[Acting secretary of the XII Book Club] , XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 5 (1944-1952), private collection, 8-9, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=30453, accessed: 17 August 2024
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).