Record Number: 24916

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'But "La leçon bien apprise" is really quite....And what is wrong with "Les Etrennes de Mlle. Doucine"? I don't like it most, but I think it most suitable owing to its humorous and sentimental characteristics. I recommend it strongly as perfectly fit for general reading and even seasonable [for the December issue of the "Review"]'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 31 Jul 1908 and 6 Oct 1908

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Luton Hoo Estate
county: Bedfordshire
specific address: Someries

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:

Anatole France

Title:

Les Etrennes de Mlle. Doucine, and La Leçon bien apprise see also additional comments

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

Calmann-Lévy Paris 1908, subsequently re-published in the December 1908 issue of the "Review"

Provenance

n/a

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Source Information:

Record ID:

24916

Source:

Print

Author:

Joseph Conrad

Editor:

Karl Frederick R. and Laurence Davies

Title:

The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad Volume 4 1908-1911

Place of Publication:

Cambridge

Date of Publication:

1990

Vol:

4

Page:

131

Additional Comments:

Letter from Joseph Conrad to Ford Madox Ford, dated 29 September or 6 October,1908, Someries.

Citation:

Joseph Conrad, Karl Frederick R. and Laurence Davies (ed.), The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad Volume 4 1908-1911, (Cambridge, 1990), 4, p. 131, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=24916, accessed: 09 May 2025

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Additional Comments:

Conrad also refers to a story entitled "Roxanne". The three stories were to form the colection "Les Contes de Jacques Tournebroche" first published on 15 June 1908 by Calmann-Lévy, Paris. These dates, and the use of the French titles suggests that these stories were read by Conrad in French rather than in translation.