Record Number: 32413

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

(1) 'Your verdict upon Macdonald's tale was worthy of so shrewd and serious a gentleman as yourself...' (2) 'And talking about books I am surprised that you don't say more of "The Golden Key": to me it was absolute heaven from the moment when Tangle ran into the woods to the glorious end in those mysterious caves. What a lovely idea "The country from which the shadows fall"!'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 7 Mar 1916 and 15 Nov 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:

George Macdonald

Title:

The Golden Key

Genre:

Fiction, Children's Lit, Fairy tale, short story

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

Please see 'Additional Comments' below

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

32413

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:

254

Additional Comments:

Both quotations are from a letter to Arthur Greeves, 15 November 1916. The first one is ironic; they had been arguing about music, and Lewis was offended by his friend's superior attitude.

Citation:

C. S. Lewis, Walter Hooper (ed.), C. S. Lewis Collected Letters, (London, 2000), 1, p. 254, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=32413, accessed: 02 May 2024

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Additional Comments:

Lewis is replying to his friend's critique of this story. It is difficult to determine when Lewis himself read it; I think his first reading of Macdonald was 'Phantastes', which he enjoyed so much that he may have sought out some of his other works straight away, so the date range begins with the reading of 'Phantastes'. 'The Golden Key' is a short story and was published along with other tales. It is included in four collections published before 1916: (1) 'Dealing with the Fairies', Alexander Strahan, London, 1867 (2) 'The Light Princess and other Fairy Stories', Blackie & Son, London, 1890 (3) 'The Light Princess and other Fairy Tales', G.B. Putnam's Sons, London and New York, 1893 (4) 'Works of Fancy and Imagination', v.9, Alexander Strahan, London, 1871.