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Record Number: 18601

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'What do you think of the "Gadfly"? I wrote what I thought to P. [presumably Sydney Pawling of Heinemann] who rejoined gallantly. But it comes to this, if his point of view is accepted, that having suffered is sufficient excuse for the production of rubbish.[...] I don't remember ever reading a book I disliked so much.'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

Between 1 Jan 1897 and 11 Oct 1897

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Stanford-le-Hope
county: Essex
specific address: Ivy Walls Farm

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:

Joseph Conrad

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

3 Dec 1857

Socio-Economic Group:

Gentry
'Szlachta', or Polish landed gentry/nobility

Occupation:

Master mariner and author

Religion:

Roman Catholic

Country of Origin:

Poland

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:

E.(Ethel) L.(Lilian) Voynich

Title:

The Gadfly

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

1897 Heinemann

Provenance

unknown
possibly sent to Conrad by Pawling of Heinemann for his comments

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Source Information:

Record ID:

18601

Source:

Print

Author:

Joseph Conrad

Editor:

Frederick R. Karl (and Laurence Davies)

Title:

The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad Volume 1, 1861-1897

Place of Publication:

Cambridge

Date of Publication:

1983

Vol:

1

Page:

395

Additional Comments:

Letter from Joseph Conrad to Edward Garnett 11 October 1897, Stanford-le-Hope.

Citation:

Joseph Conrad, Frederick R. Karl (and Laurence Davies) (ed.), The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad Volume 1, 1861-1897, (Cambridge, 1983), 1, p. 395, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=18601, accessed: 18 February 2026

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Additional Comments:

E.L.Voynich (born Lilian Boole in Cork, Ireland). 'The Gadfly' was the first novel of a romantic trilogy, this one about the Young Italy movement of 1848. The later books of the trilogy were 'An Interrupted Friendship' (1910) and 'Put Off Thy Shoes' (1945).