BRENNAN, MAEVE.
Maeve Brennan papers,
1948-1981
Maeve Brennan papers, 1948-1981
Emory University
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Atlanta, GA 30322
404-727-6887
rose.library@emory.edu
Permanent link: http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/8z1kn
Table of Contents
Descriptive Summary
| Creator: | Brennan, Maeve. |
|---|---|
| Title: | Maeve Brennan papers, 1948-1981 |
| Call Number: | Manuscript Collection No. 1142 |
| Extent: | 2.75 linear feet (6 boxes) and 1 oversized papers box (OP) |
| Abstract: | Papers of Irish American author Maeve Brennan including personal papers, writings by Brennan, writings by others, and printed material. |
| Language: | Materials entirely in English. |
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
Unrestricted access.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.
Related Materials in Other Repositories
Robert Brennan and Maeve Brennan papers, University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
Source
Purchased from Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, 2010. One subsequent addition of a letter and clippings collected by Ray A. Roberts were purchased from Horowitz in 2011.
Custodial History
The Rose Library purchased this collection from book dealer Glenn Horowitz in 2010. The original owner bought it in the early 1970s as the unknown contents of a trunk sold at an auction of abandoned items from a storage facility in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. During the 1960s, Brennan spent her summers in the town.
Citation
[after identification of item(s)], Maeve Brennan papers, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.
Appraisal Note
Acquired by Curator of Literary Collections and the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library, Kevin Young, as part of the Rose Library's holdings in American literature and Irish literature.
Processing
Arranged and described at the folder level by Sarah Quigley, January 2017.
Collection Description
Biographical Note
Maeve Brennan (1917-1993) was an Irish American writer and long-time New Yorker contributor. Brennan was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1917, and moved to the United States in 1934. After writing for Harper's Bazaar in the 1940s, Brennan joined the staff of The New Yorker in 1949, where she published numerous columns and short stories. In 1969, she published a volume of short stories, In and Out of Never-Never Land. Her The New Yorker columns were compiled in The Long-Winded Lady (1969), and she published another short story volume, Christmas Eve, in 1974. Brennan died in New York City in 1993 after a long struggle with mental illness. Several volumes of her writings have been published posthumously, including The Springs of Affection: Stories of Dublin (1997), The Rose Garden (2000), and the novella, The Visitor (2000).
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of some papers of Maeve Brennan from 1948-1981 including personal papers, writings by Brennan and others, and printed material. Personal papers contain correspondence, financial records, notebooks, and photographs. Correspondence is primarily of a personal nature and includes letters from Howard Moss and Ray A. Roberts, as well as Christmas cards and letters from other friends and associates. Financial records in the collection document Brennan's tax problems in the middle 1960s, in addition to regular expenses from the same period. The bulk of the collection consists of drafts of Brennan's short stories, along with proofs from her publications in The New Yorker and drafts of her novella, The Visitor. Many folders include evidence of Brennan's drafting process, from handwritten or typed notes and ideas to fully drafted versions of stories. Drafts include extensive revisions, either in Brennan's hand or typed and taped over the original text. There are a few writings by others, which were sent to Brennan for her review. Printed material contains Brennan's publications in The New Yorker, New York City restaurant menus, event fliers, programs, and other items primarily relating to New York City. The collection is non-comprehensive and there are significant gaps since most of Brennan's personal belongings were lost, destroyed, given away, or stolen during her later life.
Arrangement Note
Arranged by record type, then in alphabetical order. Writings by Brennan are primarily in original order within folders. Original paperclips were replaced to preserve groups of material organized by Brennan. No effort was made to reunite drafts of stories that may have been separated or to order drafts and notes within folders. Drafts were combined into single folders when doing so would not disrupt the original order of the material. Dates of the writings are primarily the dates of publication and may not be fully representative of the time period during which Brennan created the drafts in this collection.
Selected Search Terms
Uniform Title
Personal Names
Topical Terms
- American literature--Irish American authors.
- American literature--Women authors.
- Authors, Irish.
- Women authors, Irish.
Form/Genre Terms
Container List
| Personal papers | ||
| Box | Folder | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Address book, undated |
| 1 | 2 | Bills and receipts, circa 1957-1967 |
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence, circa 1957-1973 |
| 1 | 4 | Notebook, undated [1] |
| 1 | 5 | Notebook, undated [2] |
| 1 | 6 | Notebook, circa 1955 |
| 1 | 7 | Notebook, circa 1955, loose material |
| 1 | 8 | Notebook, circa 1957-1958 |
| 1 | 9 | Notebook, circa 1957-1958, loose material |
| 1 | 10 | Notebook, circa 1963 |
| 1 | 11 | Notebook, circa 1963, loose material |
| 1 | 12 | Notes, undated |
| 1 | 13 | Photographs, undated |
| 1 | 14 | Taxes, 1964-1966 |
| 2 | 1 | Taxes, circa 1967 |
| Writings by Brennan | ||
| 2 | 2 | "An Attack of Hunger," 1962 |
| 2 | 3 | "The Beginning of a Long Story," 1961 |
| 2 | 4 | "The Bohemians," 1962 |
| 2 | 5 | Book reviews, circa 1966-1967 |
| 2 | 6 | "The Carpet with the Big Pink Roses on It," 1964 |
| 2 | 7 | "The Door on West Tenth Street," 1967 |
| 2 | 8 | "The Drowned Man," 1963 |
| 2 | 9 | "A Free Choice," 1961 |
| 2 | 10 | Herbert's Retreat stories, undated [1] |
| 3 | 1 | Herbert's Retreat stories, undated [2] |
| 3 | 2 |
Herbert's Retreat stories, circa 1956
Folders 2/10 and 3/1-2 include multiple drafts of stories set at Herbert's Retreat. Many drafts are untitled or bear different titles than those under which they were ultimately published. The two undated folders have been condensed but are otherwise original to Brennan. |
| 3 | 3 | "The Holy Terror," undated |
| 3 | 4 | "I See You, Bianca," 1965 |
| 3 | 5 | "In and Out of Never-Never Land," 1963 |
| 3 | 6 | "In the Daytime," 1965 |
| 3 | 7 | The Long-winded Lady column drafts, undated |
| 3 | 8 | "The Mice," undated |
| 3 | 9 | "Miss Kilbride," 1946 |
| 3 | 10 | Mixed tales, undated [1] |
| 3 | 11 |
Mixed tales, undated [2]
"Mixed tales" is taken from the original folders. Folders 3/10-11 primarily contain full and partial drafts of unpublished stories. There are a few drafts that may be related to published stories. |
| 3 | 12 |
Mrs. Bagot stories, undated
This folder includes drafts of unpublished stories featuring the recurring characters Delia Bagot and the Bagot family. One story focuses entirely on Martin Bagot. This folder is original to Brennan. |
| 4 | 1 | The New Yorker, article proofs, 1966-1968 [1] |
| OP1 | 1 | The New Yorker, article proofs, 1966-1968 [2] |
| 4 | 2 | The New Yorker, article proofs (torn up), 1965 |
| 4 | 3 | "The Old Maid," undated |
| 4 | 4 | "Playing with Fire," 1965 |
| 4 | 5 | "The Poor Men and Women," undated |
| 4 | 6 | "The Rose Garden," 1959 [1] |
| OP1 | 2 | "The Rose Garden," 1959 [2] |
| 4 | 7 | "The Shadow Garden," 1965 |
| 4 | 8 | "A Snowy Night on West Forty-Ninth Street," 1966 |
| 4 | 9 | "Stories of Africa," 1966 |
| 4 | 10 | "The Twelfth Wedding Anniversary," 1966 |
| 5 | 1 | Unidentified draft, circa 1967 |
| 5 | 2 |
"The Visitor," undated
This folder contains two drafts, both earlier versions of the story than the manuscript at the University of Notre Dame from which the novella was published in 2000. |
| 5 | 3 | "What the Grocer's Children Knew," undated |
| 5 | 4 | "A Young Girl Can Spoil Her Chances," 1962 |
| Writings by others | ||
| 5 | 5 | Blackburn, Paul, "The Stone," proof, The New Yorker, 1965 April 2 |
| 5 | 6 | Clark, Adelaide, "Re-reading Andersen," undated |
| 5 | 7 | Kearney, Robert, "Danny," 1948 |
| 5 | 8 | Raab, Salwyn, "The Moving Industry," 1968 |
| 5 | 9 | Unidentified author, "Murder in a Summer Dress," undated |
| Printed material | ||
| 5 | 10 | Algonquin Hotel (New York, New York), post cards, undated |
| 5 | 11 | The American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and Letters Ceremonial, program, 1973 May 16 |
| 5 | 12 | Anti-Vietnam War protests, fliers, 1967 April |
| 5 | 13 | "The Art of Drinking," engagement calendar, 1964 |
| 5 | 14 | The Bookseller, 1968 June 22 |
| 5 | 15 | Decca Records, "Songs of Our Times," record sleeves, 1925-1937 |
| 5 | 16 | Henri Bendel, 10 West fragrance card, undated |
| 5 | 17 | "Ireland," Bulletin of the Department of External Affairs, 1967-1968 |
| 5 | 18 | Newspaper clippings, 1960-1965 |
| OP1 | 3 | New York, The Sunday Herald Tribune Magazine, 1965 April 11 |
| OP1 | 4 | The New York Times Magazine, 1965 April 18 |
| 6 | 1 | The New Yorker, excerpts, 1953-1981 |
| 6 | 2 | The New Yorker, complete issues, 1968 January 13 and March 23 |
| 6 | 3 | Restaurant menus, undated [1] |
| OP1 | 5 | Restaurant menus, undated [2] |
| 6 | 4 | Times Square (New York, New York), circa 1967 |
| OP1 | 6 | Weyerhaeuser Company, calendar, 1968 |
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