Record Number: 32381

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

(1) 'This week's new purchase consisted of ... "John Silence" in the 7d. edition.... It fairly swept me off my feet, so that on Saturday night I hardly dared to go upstairs. I left off - until next weekend - in the middle of the "Nemesis of Fire" — Oh, Arthur, aren't they priceless? Particularly the "Ancient Sorceries" one, which I think I shall remember all my life.'(2) 'I have now finished that adorable... "John Silence": I still think "Ancient Sorceries" the best, though indeed all, particularly the "Fire" one, are glorious. In the last one the opening part, all about those lovely Northern Islands and the camp life — wouldn't you love to go there? — is so very beautiful that you feel almost sorry to have the supernatural dragged in. Though the idea of the were-wolf is splendid. At what point of the story did you begin to guess the truth?'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 18 Jul 1916 and 25 Jul 1916

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

Great Bookham
Surrey
'Gastons'

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:

Algernon Blackwood

Title:

John Silence, Physician Extraordinary

Genre:

Fiction, Astrology / alchemy / occult, A collection of four short stories about the supernatural

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

London: Newnes' Sixpenny Copyright Novels, 1913

Provenance

owned

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Source Information:

Record ID:

32381

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:

214, 219

Additional Comments:

(1) From a letter to Arthur Greeves, 'Tuesday evening, the I don't know what', [18] July 1916 (2) From a letter to the same, 25 July 1916

Citation:

C. S. Lewis, Walter Hooper (ed.), C. S. Lewis Collected Letters, (London, 2000), 1, p. 214, 219, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=32381, accessed: 04 May 2024

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Additional Comments:

Lewis read this book only at the weekend: 'on Saturday night I hardly dared to go upstairs. I left off — until next week end — in the middle of...' This means that he was reading it purely for pleasure, not as part of his studies.