Record Number: 30914

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'I haven't quite finished Mrs Wharton. It's very good and readable as she always is I think. It was a great solace to me on the way. Also I had a volume of poems by Rupert Brooke which interested me. The man's a poet and sometimes touches a searching string. It was nice to wake up this morning and see the sun shining on the olive trees.'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 10 Nov 1913 and 14 Nov 1913

Country:

at sea (Mediterranean)

Time

n/a

Place:

other location: on bord the S.S. 'Lotus' between Marseilles and Alexandria

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:

Gertrude Bell

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

16 Jul 1868

Socio-Economic Group:

Gentry

Occupation:

Linguist, traveller, archaeologist, information gatherer for British government and Middle East political advisor

Religion:

originally Christian (Anglican) by now declared atheist

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

at sea (Mediterranean)

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Edith Wharton

Title:

?The Custom of the Country

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

London: Macmillan, 1913

Provenance

unknown
possibly owned

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Source Information:

Record ID:

30914

Source - Manuscript:

Other

Information:

Gertude Bell Archive, Newcastle University http://www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk/

Additional Information:

http://www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk/letter_details.php?letter_id=15 Letter from Gertrude Bell to Florence Bell 14 November 1913

Citation:

Gertude Bell Archive, Newcastle University http://www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk/, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=30914, accessed: 02 May 2024

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Additional Comments:

While the title of the work by Edith Wharton is not stated, the style of the evidence suggests a familiarity with her work, and given Gertrude Bell's regular reading of recently published fiction while on board ship, it may very well have been the recently published "The Custom of the Country".