Record Number: 32374

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'Besides this [i.e. Sidney's "Arcadia"] I have read nothing lately, except a foolish modern novel which I read at one sitting — or rather one lying on the sofa, this afternoon in the middle of a terrible thunderstorm. I think, that if modern novels are to be read at all, they should be taken like this, at one gulp, and then thrown away — preferably into the fire (that is if they are not in one's own edition). Not that I despise them because they are modern, but really most of them are pretty sickly with their everlasting problems.'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

28 Jun 1916

Country:

England

Time

afternoon

Place:

Great Bookham
Surrey
'Gastons'
sitting room

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:

Clive Staples Lewis

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

29 Nov 1898

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Student

Religion:

Church of England

Country of Origin:

Northern Ireland

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:

[Anon] [Anon]

Title:

[unknown]

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

Found

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Source Information:

Record ID:

32374

Source:

Print

Author:

C. S. Lewis

Editor:

Walter Hooper

Title:

C. S. Lewis Collected Letters

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

2000

Vol:

1

Page:

202

Additional Comments:

From a letter to Arthur Greeves, 28 June 1916

Citation:

C. S. Lewis, Walter Hooper (ed.), C. S. Lewis Collected Letters, (London, 2000), 1, p. 202, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=32374, accessed: 11 March 2025

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Additional Comments:

Nothing is known about this novel, except that it was 'modern'. I have marked it as 'found' because it may have been part of the Gastons library, it may have belonged to a member of the household, or it may have been borrowed from another library. I suppose Lewis wanted something trivial to while away the time during the storm.