Record Number: 29001
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'Later on he talked laughingly of the cheap editions he had been wont to buy of Mark Twain's masterpieces, and spoke reminiscently of reading these books when he was on the Congo.'
Century:1850-1899
Date:Between Jun 1890 and Dec 1890
Country:Congo Free State (Belgian Congo)
Timen/a
Place:other location: on board steamship 'Roi des Belges'
Type of Experience(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:3 Dec 1857
Socio-Economic Group:Gentry
'Szlachta', or Polish landed gentry/nobility
Master mariner
Religion:Roman Catholic
Country of Origin:Poland
Country of Experience:Congo Free State (Belgian Congo)
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:unknown
Genre:Fiction
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceowned
Source Information:
Record ID:29001
Source:Jessie Conrad
Editor:n/a
Title:Joseph Conrad and His Circle
Place of Publication:London
Date of Publication:1935
Vol:n/a
Page:252-3
Additional Comments:
Jessie Conrad recalling the text of an interview Conrad gave at the end of his American visit in 1923.
Citation:
Jessie Conrad, Joseph Conrad and His Circle, (London, 1935), p. 252-3, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=29001, accessed: 26 April 2025
Additional Comments:
Texts not specifically identified, though can be guessed at. There is no indication of reading experiences in Conrad's 'The Congo Diary'. Twain's political satire on the Congo, 'King Leopold's Soliloquy' did not appear until 1905. Knowles and Moore (2000), in 'Oxford Reader's Companion to Conrad ' p.341, suggest that he read Twain in his early sea years while on British ships.
