Record Number: 33523

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'He first read Twain in London in the late eighties. "Innocents Abroad"(1869) was all the rage. But his description of life in America-some of his short stories as well as the longer books- those are what counted... Twain's "Mississippi Pilot"[Life of the Mississippi"]came closest to Conrad's own life. Conrad said he often thought of Twain and this book in the Congo.'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

Between 1 Jul 1889 and 31 Dec 1889

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: London
specific address: 6 Bessborough Gardens, Pimlico

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:

Mark Twain

Title:

Life on the Mississippi

Genre:

Autobiog / Diary, Geography / Travel

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

London: Chatto&Windus 1883

Provenance

owned

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Source Information:

Record ID:

33523

Source:

Print

Author:

n/a

Editor:

Martin Ray

Title:

Joseph Conrad Memories and Impressions: an annotated bibliography

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam

Date of Publication:

2007

Vol:

n/a

Page:

7

Additional Comments:

Anonymous interview for the "Mentor" 4 May 1924, reprinted in Ray (2007)

Citation:

Martin Ray (ed.), Joseph Conrad Memories and Impressions: an annotated bibliography, (Amsterdam, 2007), p. 7, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=33523, accessed: 26 April 2025

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Additional Comments:

Owen Knowles in "A Conrad Chronology" (1990,) p.13 believes that Conrad started reading Twain in the second half of 1889, while on a long period of shore leave. In a letter to Edward Garnett 18 July 1897 ("Collected Letters" vol 1 p.365) Conrad quotes verbatim from this work, which suggest re-reading and memorising and /or his own copy at hand.