Record Number: 33641

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

Last night M. Besse read Anatole France—the charming tale of Celestin and Amicus, the hermit and the fawn.

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

26 Dec 1934

Country:

Yemen

Time

evening
night

Place:

city: Aden
county: Yemen

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:

Antonin Besse

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

26 Jun 1877

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Merchant

Religion:

Christian

Country of Origin:

France

Country of Experience:

Yemen

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Anatole France

Title:

'Amycus et Celestin'

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown
Likely read aloud in French rather than in English translation

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Source Information:

Record ID:

33641

Source:

Print

Author:

Freya Stark

Editor:

n/a

Title:

The Coast of Incense: Autobiography, 1933-1939

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

1953

Vol:

n/a

Page:

46

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Freya Stark, The Coast of Incense: Autobiography, 1933-1939, (London, 1953), p. 46, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=33641, accessed: 20 May 2025

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Additional Comments:

Sir Antonin Besse (1877-1951) was a French merchant resident in Yemen who would later found St Anthony's College in Oxford. Dame Freya Madeline Stark (31 Jan 1893 - 9 May 1993) was a British explorer and travel writer. This reading experience took place on Boxing Day in Aden. Stark was ill with cholera at the time.