Record Number: 18173

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

[Sitwell said] 'I used to read "The Rape of the Lock" at night under the bedclothes by the light of a candle. It's a wonder I didn't set myself on fire. I had memorized it by the time I was twelve'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

Until: 7 Sep 1899

Country:

England

Time

n/anight

Place:

county: Derbyshire
specific address: Renishaw Hall
location in dwelling: in bed

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:

Edith Sitwell

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

7 Sep 1887

Socio-Economic Group:

Royalty / aristocracy

Occupation:

later writer

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

England

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:

Alexander Pope

Title:

Rape of the Lock, The

Genre:

Poetry

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

18173

Source:

Print

Author:

G.A. Cevasco

Editor:

n/a

Title:

The Sitwells: Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell

Place of Publication:

Boston

Date of Publication:

1987

Vol:

n/a

Page:

6

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

G.A. Cevasco, The Sitwells: Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell, (Boston, 1987), p. 6, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=18173, accessed: 06 May 2024

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Additional Comments:

This anecdote comes originally from Elizabeth Salter, 'The Last Years of a Rebel: A Memoir of Edith Sitwell' and is not necessarily true - other critics suggest she read it only after her younger brothers went to Eton, when she would have been 17 or so.