Record Number: 12852
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
After lunch was always a pleasant time at Vailima...that was the time Louis usually chose to read aloud something he had written. We were an eager, attentive audience, and when he had finished he welcomed suggestions and we were free to say whatever we liked. Usually we were unanimously enthusiastic, especially over chapters of 'Weir of Hermiston'...once, however, he read a story called 'The Witch Woman' that none of us cared for very much. My mother said it showed the influence of a Swedish author Louis had been reading, and was not in his own clear, individual style. She made no comment when he sent it to his publisher, and nothing more was heard of 'The Witch Woman'.
Century:1850-1899
Date:Between 7 Dec 1889 and 3 Dec 1894
Country:Samoa
Timeafternoon: After lunch
Place:city: Vailima, near Mount Vaea
specific address: 'Vailima'
(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:13 Nov 1850
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:Writer
Religion:Church of Scotland
Country of Origin:Scotland
Country of Experience:Samoa
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
Fanny Stevenson (wife); Isobel Field (step-daughter)
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:Weir of Hermiston
Genre:Fiction
Form of Text:Manuscript: Unknown
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenanceowned
Source Information:
Record ID:12852
Source:Isobel Field
Editor:n/a
Title:This Life I've Loved
Place of Publication:London
Date of Publication:1937
Vol:n/a
Page:294
Additional Comments:
Memoir of Stevenson's step-daughter, Isobel Field (previously Strong, nee Osbourne).
Citation:
Isobel Field, This Life I've Loved (London, 1937), p. 294, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/RED/record_details.php?id=12852, accessed: 30 November 2023
Additional Comments:
'Weir of Hermiston' was unfinished at the time of Stevenson's death on 3 December 1894.