Record Number: 18923

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'In a little while came the books . [..] I've read "Vathek" at once. C'est tres bien. What an infernal imagination! The style is cold and I do not see in the work the immense promise as set forth by the introduction. Chaucer I have dipped into, reading aloud as you advised. I am afraid I am not English enough to appreciate fully the father of English literature. Moreover I am generally insensible to verse. Thereupon came "The Stealing of the Mare" This I delight in. I've read it at once and right through. It is quite inspiring most curious and altogether fascinating.'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

Between 8 Feb 1899 and 26 Feb 1899

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Stanford near Hythe
county: Kent
specific address: Pent Farm

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

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Joseph Conrad

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

3 Dec 1857

Socio-Economic Group:

Gentry
'Szlachta', or Polish landed gentry/nobility

Occupation:

Master mariner and author

Religion:

Roman Catholic

Country of Origin:

Poland

Country of Experience:

England

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

William Beckford

Title:

Vathek, an Arabian Tale or The History of the Caliph Vathek

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book, Unknown

Publication Details

1784 originally published in French, and in English 1786 J.Johnson

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

18923

Source:

Print

Author:

Joseph Conrad

Editor:

Frederick R. Karl (and Laurence Davies)

Title:

The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad Volume 2, 1898-1902

Place of Publication:

Cambridge

Date of Publication:

1986

Vol:

2

Page:

171-172

Additional Comments:

Letter from Joseph Conrad to Robert Cunninghame Graham 26th February 1899, Pent Farm.

Citation:

Joseph Conrad, Frederick R. Karl (and Laurence Davies) (ed.), The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad Volume 2, 1898-1902, (Cambridge, 1986), 2, p. 171-172, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=18923, accessed: 25 November 2024

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Additional Comments:

None