Reading by Candlelight: Why the Dark Made Reading a Social Act in the Eighteenth Century
To read by candlelight was a physical act. Readers leaned forward, craned their necks, narrowed their eyes. Flames danced and wavered constantly, so the letters themselves seemed to tremble. A single candle did not flood the page with light. Books had to be angled precisely to prevent words dissolving into shadow. Unsurprisingly, eye strain was a common complaint.