Record Number: 18898

---

Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'.....I've been ill with heart trouble - why I can't imagine, as it has always been quite strong so Sachie lent me his country house for a fortnight. I sat on the verandah all day, reading and sleeping. I read a lot of Dryden, in a lovely first edition ( Dryden was by bith a county neighbour, which accounts for the library being full of his work) - Pope, the life of Alexander the Great, of whom there is a portrait wearing a periwig, and delightful eighteenth century books about the moral worth of animals, praising the industry of the Bee, reproving the Ostrich for being a Bad Parent.....'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 1 Jan 1926 and 30 Sep 1926

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

county: Northamptonshire
specific address: Weston hall

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

---

Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Edith Sitwell

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

7 Sep 1887

Socio-Economic Group:

Gentry

Occupation:

Poet

Religion:

Christian

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

---

Text Being Read:

Author:

Alexander Pope

Title:

Life of Alexander the Great

Genre:

Biography

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

borrowed (private library)
Family Library of Sacheverall Sitwell at Weston Hall, Northamptonshire

---

Source Information:

Record ID:

18898

Source:

Print

Author:

Edith Sitwell

Editor:

Richard gGeene

Title:

Selected letters of Edith Sitwell

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

1998

Vol:

n/a

Page:

68-69

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Edith Sitwell, Richard gGeene (ed.), Selected letters of Edith Sitwell, (London, 1998), p. 68-69, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=18898, accessed: 22 November 2024

---

Additional Comments:

Letter to Violet Schiff dated Bank Holiday [1926?] from Renishaw Hall, the Sitwell's ancestral home. This letter is placed between one dated 2nd July 1926 and another dated 16 September 1926. Edith and her brothers Osbert and Sacheverall traditionally stayed at Renishaw Hall during the summer which may account for the date positioning of this letter. In it Edith apologises to Violet Schiff for not writing before due to illness and leaving a letter from Violet behind when she went to Weston Hall ( Sacheverall's home) to recuperate.