tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post4106957047068982130..comments2024-03-25T22:59:30.053+00:00Comments on Desperate Reader: Enthusiasms – Mark GirouardDesperate Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-62221133690254999942012-05-11T19:13:55.792+01:002012-05-11T19:13:55.792+01:00I knew nothing about Walter before reading the ess...I knew nothing about Walter before reading the essay and wonder what the internet would throw at me if I started googling him. I found the whole book really interesting; the enthusiasm was catching and there where a few things I'd like to know more about in it.Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-80294697457366580482012-05-08T17:14:26.215+01:002012-05-08T17:14:26.215+01:00I enjoyed reading your discussion of "Enthusi...I enjoyed reading your discussion of "Enthusiasms" which I came across more or less by chance, and was especially interested in Girouard's essay on Walter. <br /><br />A few Victorians have been "outed" as Walter. Wikipedia has a short article about some of them: <br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Secret_Life_%28erotica%29<br />But it does not mention the person for who I think the best case has been made, a civil engineer called William Hayward (1821-94).<br /><br />Hayward was identified by the late J. P. Pattinson, an American academic who contributed "The man who was Walter" to the journal "Victorian Literature and Culture", 30/1 (2002), 19–40. However, as the online "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" notes, under "Walter, anonymous autobiographer", Pattinson's evidence is circumstantial.<br /><br />I wonder if Mark Girouard knew of Pattinson's work when writing his essay.<br /><br />David MartinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com