Record Number: 8031

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'I haven't any right to criticise books and I don't often do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticise Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Every time I read "Pride and Prejudice" I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone.'

Century:

1800-1849, 1850-1899

Date:

unknown

Country:

unknown

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:

Samuel Langhorne Clemens

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

30 Nov 1835

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Author

Religion:

unknown

Country of Origin:

America

Country of Experience:

unknown

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

n/a

Additional Comments:

Also known as Mark Twain

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Jane Austen

Title:

Pride and Prejudice

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

8031

Source:

Print

Author:

Mark Twain

Editor:

Albert Bigelow Paine

Title:

Mark Twain's Letters

Place of Publication:

New York & London

Date of Publication:

1917

Vol:

2

Page:

667

Additional Comments:

Letter of 13 September 1898. B.C. Southam (in "Jane Austen: The Critical Heritage", II, 232) notes that the third sentence was added in 'Mark Twain and the Art of Writing', Brander Matthews, "Harper's Magazine", October 1920.

Citation:

Mark Twain, Albert Bigelow Paine (ed.), Mark Twain's Letters, (New York & London, 1917), 2, p. 667, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=8031, accessed: 24 April 2024

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Additional Comments:

None