You can copy this item for personal use, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It cannot be used commercially without permission. Please ensure the following credit accompanies it:
http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/dbworkshop/index.php/Detail/objects/94252
Accessed on 2021/03/05 09:45:22
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE TEI PUBLIC "customisation-tei/tei_readingExp.dtd" "">
<TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0">
<teiHeader>
<fileDesc>
<titleStmt>
<author>
<persName>
<forename>Charlotte</forename>
<surname>Brontë</surname>
</persName>
</author>
<title>Villette</title>
</titleStmt>
<sourceDesc>
<msDesc>
<msIdentifier>
<country/>
<settlement/>
<institution/>
<repository>private collection</repository>
<collection/>
<idno/>
</msIdentifier>
<msContents>
<msItem>
<title>XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 5 (1944-1952)</title>
<author>Margaret Dilks</author>
</msItem>
</msContents>
</msDesc>
</sourceDesc>
<notesStmt>
<note>xml/ukred-30559.xml</note>
</notesStmt>
</fileDesc>
<profileDesc>
<correspDesc>
<correspAction type="sending">
<persName>
<forename/>
<surname/>
</persName>
</correspAction>
<correspAction type="receiving">
<persName>
<forename/>
<surname/>
</persName>
</correspAction>
</correspDesc>
<langUsage/>
</profileDesc>
<experienceDesc>
<experience ref="ukred-30559">
<respStmt resp="submitter">
<resp>submitted by</resp>
<persName>
<forename>Ian</forename>
<surname>Spackman</surname>
</persName>
<address>
<address_line/>
</address>
<email>ian.spackman@talktalk.net</email>
</respStmt>
<respStmt resp="editor"/>
<date when="1945-04-25">Apr. 25 1945</date>
<time>in the evening</time>
<reader>
<persName>
<forename>Margaret</forename>
<surname>Dilks</surname>
</persName>
<sex>F</sex>
<age>Adult (18-100+)</age>
<education scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/education"/>
<birth>2016-07-15</birth>
<faith scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/faith" ref="FAI233">Quakers</faith>
<readerStatus scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/reader_status"/>
</reader>
<listener>
<note>Members of the XII Book Club</note>
</listener>
<place>
<placeName type="street">22, Cintra Avenue</placeName>
<location>
<country>England</country>
<county>Berkshire</county>
<settlement type="city">Reading</settlement>
<district/>
</location>
</place>
<textRead>
<author>
<persName>
<forename>Charlotte</forename>
<surname>Brontë</surname>
</persName>
</author>
<title>Villette</title>
<genre scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/genre" ref="GEN3">Fiction</genre>
<textProvenance ref="TPR215" scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/text_provenance">Unknown</textProvenance>
<textStatus ref="TST4" scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/text_status">Unknown</textStatus>
<textForm scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/text_form" ref="TFO02">Book</textForm>
<origLanguage>
<language/>
</origLanguage>
<textStatus scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/text_status"/>
</textRead>
<readingExp>
<experienceType scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/experience_type" ref="EXT111">Aloud</experienceType>
<posture scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/posture"/>
<lighting scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/lighting"/>
<environment scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/environment"/>
<intensity scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/intensity"/>
<emotion scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/emotion"/>
<testimony scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/testimony"/>
<sourceReliability scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/source_reliability"/>
<expFrequency scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/experience_frequency" ref="EXF2">Single event</expFrequency>
<note>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).</note>
</readingExp>
</experience>
</experienceDesc>
</teiHeader>
<text>
<body>
<div type="chapter" label="Margaret Dilks was secretary to the XII Book Club from 1940 to 1970. It is inferred from this, and from the handwriting, that she was the author of this set of minutes. ">
<p>
<ptr target="ukred-30559">"Meeting held at 22 Cintra Avenue, Northcourt Avenue, 25th April 1945<br/>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;F. E. Pollard in the chair. <br/>
<br/>
[...] <br/>
<br/>
2. The minutes of the last meeting were read & signed. <br/>
<br/>
5. Alice Joselin introduced the subject of the evening with a biographical study of
the Brontë family. Contrary to her expressed idea that she could do little more
than recite a list of dates, Alice Joselin drew for us a vivid picture of the life at
Haworth Rectory and the way in which the three sisters took the literary world by
storm. <br/>
<br/>
6. After adjourning for refreshment we turned our attentions to a study of the
works of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë. First Margaret Dilks read from
“Vil[l]ette” the description of Mme. Rachel, the famous actress. Since this passage
is the only contribution Charlotte Brontë is allowed to make to the Oxford Book of
English Prose, it is presumably considered great by someone who should be
qualified to judge. But when the reader had finished, the only audible comment
from this learned gathering was “Can someone tell me what all that means?”
<br/>
<br/>
7. F. E. Pollard then gave us the benefit of his discerning criticism of the works of
these writers. Describing himself as of a naturally romantic & sentimental turn of
mind (cheers and prolonged applause) he championed Jane Eyre and Shirley.
There followed a lively discussion in which nearly all members took part. The
excessive wordiness of which both Emily & Charlotte are sometimes guilty, was
attributed to the bad influence of the continent on the Englishman’s [sic!] natural
restraint. Several members of the fair sex expressed a distaste for the horrors of
Wuthering Heights, one even going so far as to suggest that the author was
probably mad. Cyril Langford, reading from a newspaper article, put forward an
interesting theory that the book was the natural psychological reaction of one
whose life was mainly occupied in household duties; and Thomas Hopkins crowned
all by telling us that he had once been presented with Wuthering Heights as a
Sunday School prize. Cyril Langford also drew our attention to Jane Eyre’s
description of her own paintings, which were clearly the forerunners of surrealism.
Other readings given were:-<br/>
Howard Smith from Wuthering Heights[,]<br/>
Rosamund Wallis from Shirley[,]<br/>
& Howard Smith from The Gondal Poems[.]"</ptr>
</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
</TEI>
You can copy this item for personal use, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It cannot be used commercially without permission. Please ensure the following credit accompanies it:
http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/dbworkshop/index.php/Detail/objects/94252
Accessed on 2021/03/05 09:45:22
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE TEI PUBLIC "customisation-tei/tei_readingExp.dtd" "">
<TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0">
<teiHeader>
<fileDesc>
<titleStmt>
<author>
<persName>
<forename>Charlotte</forename>
<surname>Brontë</surname>
</persName>
</author>
<title>Villette</title>
</titleStmt>
<sourceDesc>
<msDesc>
<msIdentifier>
<country/>
<settlement/>
<institution/>
<repository>private collection</repository>
<collection/>
<idno/>
</msIdentifier>
<msContents>
<msItem>
<title>XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 5 (1944-1952)</title>
<author>Margaret Dilks</author>
</msItem>
</msContents>
</msDesc>
</sourceDesc>
<notesStmt>
<note>xml/ukred-30559.xml</note>
</notesStmt>
</fileDesc>
<profileDesc>
<correspDesc>
<correspAction type="sending">
<persName>
<forename/>
<surname/>
</persName>
</correspAction>
<correspAction type="receiving">
<persName>
<forename/>
<surname/>
</persName>
</correspAction>
</correspDesc>
<langUsage/>
</profileDesc>
<experienceDesc>
<experience ref="ukred-30559">
<respStmt resp="submitter">
<resp>submitted by</resp>
<persName>
<forename>Ian</forename>
<surname>Spackman</surname>
</persName>
<address>
<address_line/>
</address>
<email>ian.spackman@talktalk.net</email>
</respStmt>
<respStmt resp="editor"/>
<date when="1945-04-25">Apr. 25 1945</date>
<time>in the evening</time>
<reader>
<persName>
<forename>Margaret</forename>
<surname>Dilks</surname>
</persName>
<sex>F</sex>
<age>Adult (18-100+)</age>
<education scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/education"/>
<birth>2016-07-15</birth>
<faith scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/faith" ref="FAI233">Quakers</faith>
<readerStatus scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/reader_status"/>
</reader>
<listener>
<note>Members of the XII Book Club</note>
</listener>
<place>
<placeName type="street">22, Cintra Avenue</placeName>
<location>
<country>England</country>
<county>Berkshire</county>
<settlement type="city">Reading</settlement>
<district/>
</location>
</place>
<textRead>
<author>
<persName>
<forename>Charlotte</forename>
<surname>Brontë</surname>
</persName>
</author>
<title>Villette</title>
<genre scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/genre" ref="GEN3">Fiction</genre>
<textProvenance ref="TPR215" scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/text_provenance">Unknown</textProvenance>
<textStatus ref="TST4" scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/text_status">Unknown</textStatus>
<textForm scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/text_form" ref="TFO02">Book</textForm>
<origLanguage>
<language/>
</origLanguage>
<textStatus scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/text_status"/>
</textRead>
<readingExp>
<experienceType scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/experience_type" ref="EXT111">Aloud</experienceType>
<posture scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/posture"/>
<lighting scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/lighting"/>
<environment scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/environment"/>
<intensity scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/intensity"/>
<emotion scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/emotion"/>
<testimony scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/testimony"/>
<sourceReliability scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/source_reliability"/>
<expFrequency scheme="http://eured.univ-lemans.fr/thesaurus/experience_frequency" ref="EXF2">Single event</expFrequency>
<note>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).</note>
</readingExp>
</experience>
</experienceDesc>
</teiHeader>
<text>
<body>
<div type="chapter" label="Margaret Dilks was secretary to the XII Book Club from 1940 to 1970. It is inferred from this, and from the handwriting, that she was the author of this set of minutes. ">
<p>
<ptr target="ukred-30559">"Meeting held at 22 Cintra Avenue, Northcourt Avenue, 25th April 1945<br/>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;F. E. Pollard in the chair. <br/>
<br/>
[...] <br/>
<br/>
2. The minutes of the last meeting were read & signed. <br/>
<br/>
5. Alice Joselin introduced the subject of the evening with a biographical study of
the Brontë family. Contrary to her expressed idea that she could do little more
than recite a list of dates, Alice Joselin drew for us a vivid picture of the life at
Haworth Rectory and the way in which the three sisters took the literary world by
storm. <br/>
<br/>
6. After adjourning for refreshment we turned our attentions to a study of the
works of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë. First Margaret Dilks read from
“Vil[l]ette” the description of Mme. Rachel, the famous actress. Since this passage
is the only contribution Charlotte Brontë is allowed to make to the Oxford Book of
English Prose, it is presumably considered great by someone who should be
qualified to judge. But when the reader had finished, the only audible comment
from this learned gathering was “Can someone tell me what all that means?”
<br/>
<br/>
7. F. E. Pollard then gave us the benefit of his discerning criticism of the works of
these writers. Describing himself as of a naturally romantic & sentimental turn of
mind (cheers and prolonged applause) he championed Jane Eyre and Shirley.
There followed a lively discussion in which nearly all members took part. The
excessive wordiness of which both Emily & Charlotte are sometimes guilty, was
attributed to the bad influence of the continent on the Englishman’s [sic!] natural
restraint. Several members of the fair sex expressed a distaste for the horrors of
Wuthering Heights, one even going so far as to suggest that the author was
probably mad. Cyril Langford, reading from a newspaper article, put forward an
interesting theory that the book was the natural psychological reaction of one
whose life was mainly occupied in household duties; and Thomas Hopkins crowned
all by telling us that he had once been presented with Wuthering Heights as a
Sunday School prize. Cyril Langford also drew our attention to Jane Eyre’s
description of her own paintings, which were clearly the forerunners of surrealism.
Other readings given were:-<br/>
Howard Smith from Wuthering Heights[,]<br/>
Rosamund Wallis from Shirley[,]<br/>
& Howard Smith from The Gondal Poems[.]"</ptr>
</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
</TEI>