Record Number: 34187
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
The tourist class in the 'Athenia' was a distraction of wailing children and howling winds. I dislike the sea anyway when it is anything other than something blue that wraps itself round islands. Yet as I lay in my bunk between distasteful meals I read the Odyssey for the first time in Butcher and Lang's translation; and the roar and hiss of the waves was a part of its music. I was so transported with delight that I leapt up at intervals to walk about the narrow cabin floor, in an ecstasy that had to be expressed somehow, or choke me.
Century:1900-1945
Date:Between 1 Oct 1928 and 31 Oct 1928
Country:Atlantic Ocean, between England and Canada
Timen/a
Place:other location: In her bunk on board the ship Athenia
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:Female
Date of Birth:31 Jan 1893
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:Explorer and travel writer
Religion:Christian
Country of Origin:England
Country of Experience:Atlantic Ocean, between England and Canada
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:The Odyssey
Genre:Poetry, Greek epic poem in English prose translation
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication DetailsEnglish prose translation by S.H. Butcher and Andrew Lang. London: Macmillan, 1879
Provenanceunknown
Source Information:
Record ID:34187
Source:Freya Stark
Editor:n/a
Title:Beyond Euphrates: Autobiography 1928-1933
Place of Publication:London
Date of Publication:1951
Vol:n/a
Page:25
Additional Comments:
n/a
Citation:
Freya Stark, Beyond Euphrates: Autobiography 1928-1933, (London, 1951), p. 25, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=34187, accessed: 11 March 2025
Additional Comments:
Dame Freya Madeline Stark (31 January 1893 - 9 May 1993) was a British explorer and travel writer. This experience took place during October 1928 during an Atlantic crossing from England to Canada on board the SS Athenia.
