Record Number: 33614
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'As Conrad read for an hour or to before turning in, our one lamp, of the cheap paraffin variety, was hung on a nail close to his bunk, and was generally kept alight all night in case of a sudden call.[...]. On occasions I turned in leaving him fast asleep, only to wake up an hour later to find him reading Hartley Withers "War and Lombard Street" the only book he read during the whole cruise. This particular publication was to him one of absorbing interest, and he devoted all his reading time to the study of it. We were not supplied with a library on board, but individual members of the crew had brought with them novels and magazines of the light and non-technical type. These however did not appeal to Conrad and he never read them.' [Later in the memoir the author describes Conrad discoursing on money markets and insurance, based on his reading of this book.]
Century:1900-1945
Date:Between 6 Nov 1916 and 16 Nov 1916
Country:At sea (North Sea)
Timeevening
night
other location: On board the 'Ready' a decoy brigantine
Type of Experience(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:3 Dec 1857
Socio-Economic Group:Gentry
'Szlachta', or Polish landed gentry/nobility
Master mariner and author
Religion:Roman Catholic
Country of Origin:Poland
Country of Experience:At sea (North Sea)
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:War and Lombard Street
Genre:Economics and business
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication DetailsLondon: Smith, Elder 1915
Provenanceowned
Possibly owned since Conrad reportedly donated his copy to Captain Sutherland at the end of the voyage (source text p. 96)
Source Information:
Record ID:33614
Source:J. G. Sutherland
Editor:n/a
Title:At Sea With Joseph Conrad
Place of Publication:Boston and New York
Date of Publication:1922
Vol:n/a
Page:58-9
Additional Comments:
n/a
Citation:
J. G. Sutherland, At Sea With Joseph Conrad, (Boston and New York, 1922), p. 58-9, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=33614, accessed: 17 August 2024
Additional Comments:
Conrad in a letter to Richard Curle 29 June 1922 called this memoir 'preposterous bosh' and distanced himself from its contents overall, in a letter which the author used as a forward. The source overall may not be reliable, though the actual reading experience is curiously precise.