Record Number: 18924

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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:

Geoffrey Chaucer

Title:

The Canterbury Tales

Genre:

Poetry

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

18924

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=18924, accessed: 22 November 2024

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Additional Comments:

The observation see fn.2 p. 172 of source text notes, that "The Franklin's Tale" provided the epigraph for "The Rescue", would tend to provide some evidence that "The Canterbury Tales" was the text being read, rather than one of Chaucer's lesser known works.