Record Number: 19323

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

In a long letter to Edward Garnett, in which Conrad outlines some aspects of his family history, he writes that his father Apollonius N. Korzeniowski translated into Polish Victor Hugo's "La Légende des Siècles", "Travailleurs de la Mer" and " Hernani", Alfred de Vigny's " Chatterton", Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", "As You Like It", "Two Gentlemen of Verona", "A Comedy of Errors" and "Othello" . 'These I remember seeing in proofs when sent for his correction.[...] Some of these I've read when I could be no more than eight or nine years old.' [See also additional comments.]

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

Between 1 1865 and 31 Dec 1866

Country:

Russia

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Chernikhov

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:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

3 Dec 1857

Socio-Economic Group:

Gentry
'Szlachta', or Polish landed gentry/nobility

Occupation:

Child

Religion:

Roman Catholic

Country of Origin:

Poland

Country of Experience:

Russia

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

William Shakespeare

Title:

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Genre:

Drama

Form of Text:

Manuscript: Codex, Sheet, One page of his father's translation into Polish.

Publication Details

Polish translation by Apollonius N Korzeniowski

Provenance

read in situ

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Source Information:

Record ID:

19323

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:

246

Additional Comments:

Letter from Joseph Conrad to Edward Garnett dated 20th January 1900, 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. 246, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=19323, accessed: 21 December 2024

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Additional Comments:

For details of this reading experience when the Korzeniowski family were exiled in Russia, see Joseph Conrad "A Personal Record" (1912, Penguin 1998) p.74 and also Frederick R. Karl, "Joseph Conrad:The Three Lives" (Faber 1979 p.67).