Record Number: 32418
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
(1) 'I wonder does the "Wayfarer" series publish my latest discovery - the most glorious novel (almost) that I have ever read.... It is Nathaniel Hawthorne's "House with the Seven Gables". I love the idea of a house with a curse! And although there is nothing supernatural in the story itself there is a brooding sense of mystery and fate over the whole thing: Have you read it? See if it is in the "Wayfarers" as I want to get an edition of my own as soon as possible.' (2) 'I shouldn't have said "mystery", there is really no mystery in the proper sense of the word, but a sort of feeling of fate & inevitable horror as in "Wuthering Heights". I really think I have never enjoyed a novel more. There is one lovely scene where the villain - Judge Pyncheon - has suddenly died in his chair.... it describes the corpse sitting there as the day wears on.... I intend to read all Hawthorne after this.' (3) 'This week I have been reading "The House of the Seven Gables" which I have often heard praised but never met before. Have you? It is well worth the reading.'
Century:1900-1945
Date:Between 16 Nov 1916 and 29 Nov 1916
Country:England
Timen/a
Place:Great Bookham
Surrey
'Gastons'
(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:Child (0-17)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:29 Nov 1898
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:Student
Religion:Church of England
Country of Origin:Northern Ireland
Country of Experience:England
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:The House of the Seven Gables
Genre:Other religious, Fiction, History, Astrology / alchemy / occult, Historical novel, dark romanticism
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceunknown
Definitely not owned by Lewis; probably borrowed, but not known from which library
Source Information:
Record ID:32418
Source:C. S. Lewis
Editor:Walter Hooper
Title:C. S. Lewis Collected Letters
Place of Publication:London
Date of Publication:2000
Vol:1
Page:256-7, 258-9
Additional Comments:
(1) From a letter to Arthur Greeves, 22 November, 1916 (2) From a letter to the same, 29 November 1916 (3) From a letter to his father, 1 December 1916
Citation:
C. S. Lewis, Walter Hooper (ed.), C. S. Lewis Collected Letters, (London, 2000), 1, p. 256-7, 258-9, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=32418, accessed: 06 October 2024
Additional Comments:
I think Lewis would have been delighted to know that the house is a real house which belonged to Hawthorne's cousin Susannah Ingersoll, who often entertained him there. Before that it had belonged to some of his ancestors - and they had been involved in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The house still exists, and is now a museum. Alas, the British Library Catalogue has no entry for this title in Dent's 'Wayfarer's Library', but it was published in the 'Everyman' edition.