Bonding over books? The British Left and collective reading practices in the early 20th century
Résumé
In the first half of the twentieth century, while it was ideologically divided, the British Left shared confidence in the ability of the written and printed word to emancipate and politicise the newly enfranchised working class. Censorship was limited and left-leaning publishers experimented with new formats and innovative bookselling practices. Political books and prints thus became cheaper and more accessible.
But many of the prospective readers faced concrete difficulties. While schooling had become compulsory, literacy often remained nominal. Difficult working and living conditions could also prove incompatible with “serious reading” and “heavy books”.
Collective reading had been a staple of working-class autodidactic culture. In the early 20th century, it was still a common practice, allowing readers to join forces to access texts. New reading groups emerged organically, for instance after the creation of the Left Book Club by Victor Gollancz in the 1930s. But left-wing political parties and organisations also encouraged and sometimes even required their formation, and they also organised book-centred study days and summer schools.
By looking at archival evidence, notably, the notes taken by some attendees and the study guides written for them, this paper stresses that this book-centred sociability contributed to the diffusion of left-wing ideas and to the cementing of political loyalties. But while it aimed at empowering readers, politically-driven collective reading sometimes hampered their freedom, with set reading lists, rigid reading protocols and a desire to frame an orthodox understanding of texts.