Record Number: 33978

---

Reading Experience:

Evidence:

I am reading some Yemeni legends and tales. One nice one about two rival doctors, a good and a bad one: the King said he would take as his family physician the one who succeeded in poisoning the other [summary of the tale follows]

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

15 Aug 1936

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Thornworthy
county: Devon

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

---

Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Freya Stark

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

31 Jan 1893

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Explorer and travel writer

Religion:

Christian

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

---

Text Being Read:

Author:

[Anon] [Anon]

Title:

[Yemeni legends and tales]

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Unknown

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

---

Source Information:

Record ID:

33978

Source:

Print

Author:

Freya Stark

Editor:

n/a

Title:

The Coast of Incense: Autobiography 1933-1939

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

1953

Vol:

n/a

Page:

123

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Freya Stark, The Coast of Incense: Autobiography 1933-1939, (London, 1953), p. 123, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=33978, accessed: 25 May 2025

---

Additional Comments:

Dame Freya Madeline Stark (31 January 1893-9 May 1993) was a British explorer and travel writer. It is not known for certain whether Stark's reading here refers to tales (in manuscript form) that she had collected and/or copied while in Yemen, although this is highly likely.