Record Number: 33945

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'I am disgusted with myself for letting so long a time pass before thanking you for the Gissing book ["The House of Cobwebs and other stories"], as I suppose it was you who sent me a copy. I have been away a good deal of the time, neglecting everything and that must be my excuse. I was glad to have the book and was deeply interested in your study of Gissing’s life work. Certainly it is the best one which has yet appeared, and I entirely agree with your judgement on all the books except one—"The Ryecroft Papers". That may be because for a special reason I may be unable to see the charm which others find in that book. [Hence follow 11 lines of reflection about Gissing's unhappiness as reflected in that work.]

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 1 Jan 1903 and 17 Jun 1906

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

n/a

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:

William Henry Hudson

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

4 Aug 1841

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Field naturalist, author

Religion:

Protestant (Anglican) in childhood only

Country of Origin:

Argentina

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 Gissing

Title:

The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

London: Constable, 1903

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

33945

Source:

Print

Author:

William Henry Hudson

Editor:

Denis Shrubsall

Title:

The Unpublished Letters of W. H. Hudson, the First Literary Environmentalist, 1841-1922

Place of Publication:

Lewiston, N.Y.

Date of Publication:

2006

Vol:

2

Page:

400-1

Additional Comments:

Letter from Hudson to Thomas Seccombe, 17 June 1906, 40 St Luke's Road, West London

Citation:

William Henry Hudson, Denis Shrubsall (ed.), The Unpublished Letters of W. H. Hudson, the First Literary Environmentalist, 1841-1922, (Lewiston, N.Y., 2006), 2, p. 400-1, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=33945, accessed: 25 April 2024

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Additional Comments:

Thomas Seccombe (1866-1923) was Professor of English Literature at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and an occasional correspondent of Hudson's.