Record Number: 32994
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
�We make another sally today � I have the parcel, and the letters and J. Oxenham�s books � "The V.[Vision] Splendid" contains several real poems: those indeed which you [i.e., Owen�s mother] have marked. But the majority of the things have no poetic value at all. The �Cross Roads� is very very good. Otherwise the book has little Pacific Value, if you understand me � "Barbe of Grand Bayou" seems a little too idyllic so far. Oxenham�s aim seems to be to unsophisticate the reader. It is very pleasant to be reminded of Brittany, which seems not to be of this continent at all � The book is at the opposite pole from the O. Henry books which Leslie sent me. Impossible to read them together � At the same time I am at p. 50 of A. & E. Castle�s recent book: "The Hope of the House", which promises well, and which I can recommend � I am in haste to pack � I crave Travel and shall be pleased like any infant to get into a puff-puff again.�
Century:1900-1945
Date:Between 6 Jun 1917 and 10 Jun 1917
Country:France
Timen/a
Place:city: Cerisy-Gailly
county: Somme
specific address: 41st Stationary Hospital
(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 (from 18 June 1916)
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:O. Henry (pseud. Willam Sydney Porter
Title:unknown
Genre:Fiction
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceowned
sent by Owen's cousin Leslie Gunston
Source Information:
Record ID:32994
Source:Wilfred Owen
Editor:Harold Owen
Title:Wilfred Owen: Collected Letters
Place of Publication:London
Date of Publication:1967
Vol:n/a
Page:468
Additional Comments:
Letter to Susan Owen, 10 June 1917, 41st Stationary Hospital, Cerisy-Gailly (Somme)
Citation:
Wilfred Owen, Harold Owen (ed.), Wilfred Owen: Collected Letters, (London, 1967), p. 468, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=32994, accessed: 18 February 2026
Additional Comments:
Some of O. Henry's short stories had recently been published by Eveleigh Nash, as a collection in 1916, for example "The voice of the city : further stories of the four million" as well as earlier US collections from Doubleday.
