Record Number: 33642
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
He [M. Besse] took me and Mrs Ingrams for a longish walk yesterday, over the crater edge and down to the sea...M. Besse and I bathed regardless of the sharks, of which he denies the existence in these particular bays, though there seem to be two opinions about it. It was delicious in the buoyant water, just cool enough to be pleasant, with the sun sinking into it over the spires of Little Aden. Then we came back and he read Monna Vanna out to us and so to bed, and this morning, alas, I am packing.
Century:1900-1945
Date:7 Jan 1935
Country:Yemen
Timeevening
night
city: Aden
county: Yemen
(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: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
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:Monna Vanna
Genre:Drama, History, Politics
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceunknown
Likely read aloud in French rather than in English translation
Source Information:
Record ID:33642
Source: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:54
Additional Comments:
n/a
Citation:
Freya Stark, The Coast of Incense: Autobiography, 1933-1939, (London, 1953), p. 54, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=33642, accessed: 12 November 2024
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 in Aden. It is unclear who else was present as a listener (possibly Doreen Ingrams).