Record Number: 32982
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
�I am glad you sent that cutting from Wells� Book. I hope you understood it. I did not. Not a word of it can I make sense of. I would rather we did not read this Book. Now "The Passionate Friends" I found astounding in its realism but like all the great terrible books it is impossible to �take sides�. It is not meant to be a comfortable book; it is discussional; it refuses to ignore the unpleasant � At present I am deep in a marvellous work of Hugo�s The Laughing Man.�
Century:1900-1945
Date:Between 9 May 1917 and 16 May 1917
Country:France
Timedaytime
Place:city: Cerisy-Gailly
county: Somme
specific address: 13th Casualty Clearing Station
(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:18 Mar 1893
Socio-Economic Group:Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder
Occupation:2/Lt., 2nd Battalion Manchester Regiment
Religion:Christian (Anglican)
Country of Origin:England
Country of Experience:France
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:l'Homme qui rit
Genre:Fiction
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceunknown
Source Information:
Record ID:32982
Source:Wilfred Owen
Editor:Harold Owen
Title:Wilfred Owen: Collected Letters
Place of Publication:London
Date of Publication:1967
Vol:n/a
Page:461
Additional Comments:
Letter to unidentified recipient, 16 May 1917, 13th Casualty Clearing Station, Cerisy-Gailly (Somme)
Citation:
Wilfred Owen, Harold Owen (ed.), Wilfred Owen: Collected Letters, (London, 1967), p. 461, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=32982, accessed: 04 February 2026
Additional Comments:
It is not clear from the evidence whether Owen was reading this in French or in English, since the title is usually translated as "The Man Who Laughs" not "The Laughing Man".
