Hesketh Pearson Papers
Series Descriptions
Series I. Works, 1894-1982, 8 boxes
This series is divided into two subseries: A. Books, 1894, 1920-1982, and
B. Other Works, 1903-1959. The subseries dealing with his book-length works
is arranged alphabetically by book title, reflecting the way many of his
papers were originally filed, including those letters and clippings he
frequently placed inside his personal copies of his books; the
Correspondence series may also contain material on the same subjects, as
Pearson's filing was not always consistent. Within each title materials are
arranged in this sequence: manuscripts, correspondence, research materials,
page proofs (all of which bear corrections in Pearson's handwriting),
illustrations, and clippings. Authors of correspondence are identified in
the Index of Correspondents in this guide.
Most of Pearson's books are represented by at least some materials in the
collection, beginning with his first full-length biography, Doctor
Darwin (1930). Handwritten manuscripts are here for Pearson's two last
books: Extraordinary People (1965, incomplete) and Hesketh
Pearson by Himself (1965). Correspondence in the collection indicates
that Pearson and, after his death, his wife sold most of his manuscripts
as well as his correspondence with such famous figures as George Bernard
Shaw, Frank Harris, and Winston Churchill. Of particular note in this
series are correspondence and clippings documenting the extremely
unfavorable reaction of some of the children of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to
Pearson's biography of their father, particularly that of Adrian Conan
Doyle; these materials are arranged chronologically and extend into the
period of Holroyd's executorship in order to present more fully the history
of this episode. The correspondence and research materials for
Extraordinary People mainly concern Frank Harris and include a 1920
letter from Sir Basil Thomson of the Metropolitan Police discussing
Harris's pro-German activities during World War I. Throughout the
correspondence and research materials there are many transcriptions of
letters by figures such as Shaw, Harris, Alfred Douglas, Beerbohm Tree, and
Gilbert and Sullivan that were used in writing the biographies; these
transcriptions have not been indexed.
The Other Works subseries contains mostly shorter works written by Pearson:
articles, book reviews, diaries, dramatic works, juvenilia, a notebook, and
the manuscripts or page proofs of short stories and talks. All items are
arranged either alphabetically by title or chronologically if untitled.
The juvenilia are two volumes of a "magazine" the teenaged Pearson wrote
for his family, primarily containing brief lives of famous persons. The
diaries, covering 1923-1924 and 1940-1959, are a rich source of information
about Pearson's extremely wide circle of friends in the literary world.
The diaries for 1940-1941 were supplemented by Pearson with indexes of
persons mentioned in their pages. The last actual diary entry is on 6 August
1945, followed by several dated notes made by Pearson as he reread the
volumes over the next few years.
Series II. Correspondence, 1910-1963, 2 boxes
The correspondence is arranged in alphabetical order by correspondent, with
incoming and outgoing letters interfiled. A highlight of the papers is
Pearson's lively correspondence (1921-1949) with his close friend and
coauthor Hugh Kingsmill. Their letters, numbering over 700, are not
complete: there is no correspondence from Kingsmill for the year 1946,
and Pearson's letters between 15 August 1940 and 25 January 1948 are
missing. Occasionally they enclose correspondence from other writers with
their letters; these third-party letters have been indexed only when they
are originals and not transcriptions. Other correspondents well represented
in this series are the playwright Norman Hunter, Shaw's friend Eleanor
O'Connell, Harris's former associate A. P. Buckland-Plummer, Harris's
literary executor Arthur Leonard Ross, Wilde biographer Robert Sherard,
Scott scholar Percy R. Stevenson, and writer P. G. Wodehouse. The Wodehouse
folder also contains Pearson's 1947 correspondence with Frank Soskice of
the Royal Courts of Justice in an effort to determine if, on Wodehouse's
return to England, he would be prosecuted for having participated in
German radio broadcasts during World War II. Although Pearson was the
biographer and close friend of Shaw and knew Harris well, no original
letters from either are in this collection.
Series III. Personal, 1789-1959, 7 folders
Among the personal items in the collection are the correspondence of
Pearson's mother's family (including the Biggs, Bree, and Moilliet
families) from 1789 to 1912 and arranged chronologically; records,
correspondence, medals, and a photograph album containing about 225
photographs documenting his military service in Mesopotamia during World
War I; acting scripts for the Forum scene in
Julius Caesar prepared
by Granville-Barker and Tree and used by Pearson during his career on the
stage; various birth and marriage certificates and driver's licenses; the
program of Pearson's memorial service and obituaries; and snapshots and
portrait photographs. Among the photographs is a series of snapshots of
Pearson, his first wife Gladys, and their friends John Wardrop and Eleanor
O'Connell taken by George Bernard Shaw on an occasion that is recorded in
Pearson's diary for 6 August 1945.
Series IV. Joyce Pearson, 1964-1975, 2 folders
Most of the letters addressed to Pearson's widow Joyce are letters of
condolence upon her husband's death in 1964. There are also a few letters
written to and from friends and family before her death in 1975. Everything
in this series is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Series V. Michael Holroyd, 1926-2001, 21 folders
In this series Holroyd's works are grouped together and arranged
alphabetically, followed by a small number of business papers mostly
consisting of book contracts, his correspondence arranged alphabetically
with incoming and outgoing letters interfiled (including several letters
from Pearson), and finally some third-party works and correspondence and a
small amount of unidentified materials. The bulk of Holroyd's papers
concern his biography of Kingsmill, written with guidance from Pearson; his
involvement with the publication of new editions of Pearson's works; and
his own articles on Pearson and Kingsmill. The chronologically arranged
correspondence associated with the writing of
Hugh Kingsmill (1964)
tells the story of Holroyd's difficult negotiations with Kingsmill's widow,
Dorothy Hopkinson, over the use of Kingsmill's literary remains and
includes several letters from Pearson.
(Last modified:
6 November 2003
)
Reference queries to: reference@hrc.utexas.edu
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