Biographical Sketch
Born in 1889 to Sir Hugh Barnes and Winifred Strachey Barnes, Mary
(Barnes) Hutchinson spent her early childhood in India before being sent to
boarding school in England. In 1910 she married a lawyer, St. John Hutchinson,
and about the same time her cousin and confidante Lytton Strachey and his
friend Duncan Grant introduced her to the Bloomsbury group.
Initially shy in the company of this artistic group of people,
Hutchinson soon entered into the spirit of Bloomsbury, becoming a generous
hostess and patroness. Surrounded by writers as she was, it is perhaps not
surprising that she also took to writing, publishing a single volume of short
stories and essays,
Fugitive Pieces, in 1927. Hutchinson also
became deeply involved in the lives of her friends and, in the manner of the
Bloomsbury group, maintained a long term affair with Clive Bell which was not
particularly discreet. On the other hand she seems to have maintained a
similarly lengthy relationship with Aldous and Marie Huxley, without, it is
thought, the knowledge of her husband or Bloomsbury in general. She also
provided a great deal of emotional support to T.S. and Vivienne Eliot, helping
both of them through their divorce, and remaining in touch with Vivienne as her
mental faculties deteriorated.
Hutchinson remained actively involved with the arts throughout her life.
Interested in the art and literature of modern France, she was an early
supporter of Samuel Beckett and later championed the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Even at the age of 70 she was interested in change and new expressions in art,
supporting the publication of the avant-garde literary and artistic magazine,
X. She died in 1977, survived by her only
child, Lord Hutchinson of Lullington.
Scope and Contents
Correspondence makes up the bulk of the Mary Hutchinson Papers,
1910-1977, supplemented by a few holograph and typescript manuscripts by
Hutchinson and other authors. The papers are organized into three series, with
materials arranged alphabetically by title or author: I. Works, 1966-1974 (.5
box); II. Correspondence, 1910-1977 (21 boxes); and III. Works and Ephemera by
Other Authors, 1915-1922 (1 box). These papers were previously accessible
through a card catalog, but have been re-cataloged as part of a retrospective
conversion project.
The Works Series is composed of a few articles written by Hutchinson,
including biographical sketches of several members of the Bloomsbury group,
notes taken on the life and works of Samuel Beckett, and a list of the letters
she received from Beckett. The Index of Works identifies the titles of
Hutchinson's works present in this series.
The Correspondence Series contains three subseries: A. Outgoing
Correspondence, 1915-1973, B. Incoming Correspondence, 1910-1977; and C.
Third-party Correspondence, 1912-1941. It should be noted that in many cases
the dates of letters are assumed from postmarks on envelopes. The collection of
outgoing letters is fairly small, representing only a fraction of the letters
Hutchinson must have written. Best represented in this section are her letters
to her cousin Lytton Strachey of which 141 are included. Also present are a
number of drafts of letters intended for Samuel Beckett. Recipients of
Hutchinson's letters can be identified in the Index of Correspondents in this
guide.
Incoming Correspondence makes up the bulk of these papers with well over
2,500 personal letters, postcards, notes, and telegrams sent to Hutchinson over
a period of 60 years. By far the largest contributor to this section is Clive
Bell with nearly 1400 letters. Other large accumulations of letters are present
from Samuel Beckett, Vanessa Bell, Dora Carrington, T.S. and Vivienne Eliot,
Aldous and Maria Huxley, Lytton Strachey, Henry Tonks, Virginia Woolf, David
Wright, and others. Third-party Correspondence rounds out the Correspondence
Series with a number of social and business letters to St. John Hutchinson from
Thomas Earp, T.S. Eliot, Maria Huxley, and Henry Tonks, as well as others. All
correspondents in this series are listed in the Index of Correspondents in this
guide.
The Works and Ephemera of Other Authors Series primarily contains the
output of Hutchinson's writer friends, including Samuel Beckett, Clive Bell,
Gilbert Cannan, Joseph Hone, and Aldous Huxley. Also present is a portrait
photograph of Clive Bell taken by Roger Fry, book plates belonging to Huxley,
and a fragment of Augustus John's autobiography. Works in this series are
listed in the Index of Works by Other Authors at the end of this guide.
Elsewhere in the Ransom Center are five Vertical Files of newspaper
clippings saved by Hutchinson which include periodical articles written by
Clive Bell and articles about Aldous Huxley.
Mary Hutchinson Papers--Index of Correspondents
Box and folder numbers are followed by a number in parentheses which
indicates the number of items written by that person. A single item is
indicated where there is no number in parentheses following the box and folder
number. Where there is correspondence from Mary Hutchinson, the number in
parentheses is followed by the phrase from
Hutchinson. So in the example
Grant, Duncan, 1885-1978--14.3 (49), 22.1
there are 49 letters from Duncan Grant in Box 14, Folder 3 and one
letter from Grant in Box 22, Folder 1.
In the example
Beckett, Samuel, 1906- --1.7 (17 from Hutchinson), 2.4-3.1 (224)
there are 17 letters from Hutchinson to Beckett in Box 1, Folder 7, and
224 letters from Beckett starting in Box 2, folder 4 and ending in Box 3,
Folder 1.
- Ackerley, Joe Randolph, 1896-1967--1.10
- Agate, James, 1877-1947--1.10, 21.7
- Agence du Sud-Est (firm)--1.10
- Andrew W. Barr & Company (firm)--1.10
- Anrep, Boris--2.1 (51)
- Anrep, Helen Maitland, 1889-1965--1.10 (2)
- Ansermet, Ernest Alexandre, 1883-1969--1.10 (4)
- Arlen, Michael, 1895-1956--1.10 (4)
- Avery & Company Wine Merchants (firm)--1.10
- Banting, John, 1902-1972--2.2 (2)
- Barclays Bank--2.2
- Barnes, Edith Helen--2.2
- Barnes, Hugh Shakespear, Sir, 1853-1940--2.2
- Barrie & Rockliff--2.2, 21.7 (2)
- Barry, Gerald, 1898- --2.2
- Baylis, Lilian Mary, 1874-1937--2.2
- Beaton, Cecil Walter Hardy, Sir, 1904- --2.3 (11)
- Beckett, Samuel, 1906- --1.7 (17 from Hutchinson), 2.4-3.1
(224)
- Bell, Clive, 1881-1964--3.2-9.5 (1446)
- Bell, Vanessa, 1879-1961--9.6 (36)
- Belloc, Hilaire, 1870-1953--21.7
- Bennett, Arnold, 1867-1931--9.7 (17), 21.7
- Bennett, Dorothy--2.2 (4)
- Benny, Michael--1.6 (from Hutchinson), 2.2 (5)
- Berlin, Isaiah, Sir--2.2
- Bernstein, Sidney, 1899- --2.2
- Betjeman, John, Sir, 1906- --2.2
- Better Diet Shop (firm)--2.2
- Bimross, Dorothy--2.2 (2)
- Birrell, Francis, 1889-1935--9.8 (18)
- Blanche, Jacques-Émile, 1861-1942--2.2
- Borenius, Tancred, 1885-1948--2.2 (3)
- Bowra, C.M. (Cecil Maurice), 1898-1971--2.2 (4)
- Britten, Benjamin, 1913-1976--2.2
- Bruce, Henry--2.2 (6)
- Bullock, Malcolm, Sir, 1890- --2.2
- Bussy, Dorothy--9.9 (24)
- Bussy, Jane Simone--10.1 (22)
- Bussy, Simone, 1870-1954--2.2
- Callahan, Muriel--10.2 (5)
- Cameron, James--10.2
- Campbell, Beatrice Stella Tanner--See Campbell, Patrick,
Mrs.
- Campbell, Michael--10.2, 21.7
- Campbell, Patrick, Mrs., 1865-1940--10.2
- Cannan, Gilbert, 1884-1955--10.3 (33), 21.7 (4)
- Carrington, Dora de Houghton, 1893-1932--10.4 (41)
- Cecil, David, Lord, 1902- --10.2
- Clark, Kenneth, 1903- --10.2 (12)
- Cochran, Charles Blake, 1872?-1951--10.6 (26), 21.7 (8)
- Cochran, Evelyn--10.7 (9)
- Colamore Hotel (firm)--10.2 (2)
- Connolly, Cyril, 1903-1974--10.2 (4)
- Cooper, Diana, Lady, 1892- --10.2
- Cooper, Duff, Viscount Norwich, 1890-1954--10.2
- Cornford, Frances Darwin, 1886-1960--10.2
- Covent Garden Theatre--10.2 (5)
- Crawford, David--10.2
- Cronin, Anthony--10.2 (4)
- Cunard, Nancy, 1886-1965--10.2 (12)
- Curzon, Lucille--10.2
- Dantu, Andrée--10.8
- Dawes, C.R.--21.7
- Day-Lewis, C. (Cecil), 1904-1972--10.8
- Dent, Alan--10.9 (31), 21.7
- De Valois, Ninette, 1898- --10.8
- Devine, George, 1910-1966--10.8 (6)
- De Zoete, Beryl, 1884-1962--10.8 (5)
- Dobson, Frank, 1886-1963--10.8
- Dobson, Wayland--10.10 (7)
- Doone, Rupert, 1903-1966--10.8
- Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945--10.8 (2), 21.7 (3)
- Dubuffet, Jean, 1901- --10.8 (4)
- Duthuit, Claude--10.8
- Duthuit, Georges, 1891- --10.11-11.2 (172 in French)
- Duthuit-Matisse, Marguerite--11.3-4 (64)
- Earp, Thomas Wade, 1892- --11.5 (50), 21.8 (10)
- Eliot, T.S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965--12.1-5 (229), 21.9
(11)
- Eliot, Valerie--12.6 (4)
- Eliot, Vivienne Haigh, 1888-1947--12.7-13.2 (155), 21.7 (3)
- Feiffer, Jules--21.7
- Fisher, Norman, 1910- --13.3
- Forster, E.M. (Edward Morgan), 1897-1970--13.3
- La France Libra--13.3
- Francis, Sam, 1923- --13.4 (18)
- Fry, Maxwell, 1899- --13.3
- Fry, Roger Eliot, 1899-1934--13.5 (34), 21.7 (5)
- Garnett, David, 1892- --13.3 (3)
- Gascoyne, David, 1916- --13.6 (19)
- Gerhardi, William Alexander, 1895- --13.3 (2)
- Gertler, Mark, 1891-1939--13.7-8 (50), 22.1 (2)
- Giacometti, Alberto, 1901-1966--13.3
- Gimpel, Charles--13.3 (2)
- Glenavy, Beatrice Moss Elvery Campbell, Baroness--14.1 (44)
- Gorer, Geoffrey, 1905- --13.3
- Gough, Grace--14.2 (11)
- Gowing, Julia Strachey--13.3 (2)
- Gowing, Lawrence--13.3
- Grant, Duncan, 1885-1978--14.3 (49), 22.1
- Granville-Barker, Harley, 1877-1946--13.3 (4)
- Granville-Barker, Helen, d. 1950--13.3 (2)
- Greene, Graham, 1904- --13.3 (4)
- Gregory, Eric--13.3 (2)
- Gregory, Margaret--14.4 (7)
- Gregory, Robert--13.3, 22.1 (2)
- Guevara, Meraud--13.3 (3)
- Hardman, David--14.5
- Harper & Brothers--14.5
- Hayden, Henri, 1883-1970--14.5 (5)
- Hayden, Josette--14.6-7 (58)
- Hogarth Press--14.5 (2)
- Hone, Joseph M. (Joseph Maunsell), 1882-1959--14.8-9 (47)
- Hopgood, Mills & Lonsdale (firm)--22.1
- Hotel de Frances & Choiseul--14.5 (2)
- Hotel du Palais D'Orsay--14.5 (2)
- Huxley, Aldous, 1894-1963--15.1-15.5 (132), 22.1 (2)
- Huxley, Maria--15.6-16.7 (368), 22.2 (7)
- John Calder Publisher, Ltd.--17.1
- John, Augustus, 1878-1967--17.2 (10)
- John, Dorelia McNeill--17.1
- John Murray (firm)--17.1
- Jolas, M.--17.1 (2)
- Jones, Emily Beatrix Coursolles, 1893- --17.1
- Karsavina, Tamara--17.3 (20)
- Kauffer, E. McKnight (Edward McKnight), 1890-1954--17.4 (58),
22.1
- Kauffer, Marion--17.5 (44), 22.1
- Keynes, John Maynard, 1883-1946--17.6 (14)
- Keynes, Lydia Lopokova--See Lopokova, Lydia
- King, Francis Henry--17.1
- Koteliansky, S.S. (Samuel Solomonovich), 1882-1955--17.1,
22.1
- L. & H. Nathan, Ltd. (firm)--17.8 (2)
- L'Aiglon (Paris)--17.8
- Lancaster, Osbert, Sir, 1908- --17.8
- Langford, C.--22.1
- Lawrence, Frieda von Richthofen, 1879-1956--17.8
- Lee, Laurie--17.8
- Lehmann, John, 1907- --10.10 (from Hutchinson to Lehmann,
forwarded to Wayland Dobson)
- Les Lettres Nouvelles--1.6 (from Hutchinson, in French), 17.8 (in
French)
- Lewis, Wyndham, 1882-1957--22.1 (2)
- Leyris, Pierre--17.9 (17)
- Leventhal, A.J. (Abraham Jacob), 1896-1979--17.8 (3)
- Lindsay, Daryl--17.8
- London Magazine--See Ross, Alan
- The London Mercury--17.8
- Lopokova, Lydia, 1892-1981--17.7 (17)
- Lucas, F.L. (Frank Laurence), 1894-1967--17.8
- MacCarthy, Desmond, 1877-1952--18.1 (18), 22.1 (2)
- MacCarthy, Mary Warre-Cornish--18.2 (20)
- MacColl, D.S. (Dugald Sutherland), 1859-1948--17.10
- Mackenzie, Compton, Sir, 1883-1972--17.10 (4)
- Mansfield, Katherine, 1888-1923--17.10 (6)
- Martin, Alec, Sir, 1884- --22.1
- Martin, Kingsley, 1897-1967--17.10
- Masefield, John, 1878-1967--17.10
- Massine, Leonide, 1896- --17.10
- Masson, André, 1896- --17.10
- Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset), 1874-1965--17.10 (2),
22.1 (2)
- McWhinnie, Donald--17.10 (2)
- Medley, Robert, 1905- --17.10
- Mermod, Henri Louis--17.10
- Moary, Barbara--17.10
- Moore, George, 1852-1933--18.3-4 (63), 22.1 (9)
- Moore, Henry, 1898- --17.10 (2)
- Morrell, Ottoline Violet Anne Cavendish-Bentick, Lady,
1873-1938--18.5 (9)
- Morris, Henry, of Cambridgeshire--18.6 (41)
- Murry, John Middleton, 1889-1957--17.10 (2), 22.1
- Nichols, Robert Malise Bower, 1893-1944--18.7
- Nicholson, H. (Harold)--18.7
- Norton, Harry T. J.--18.7 (8)
- Pears, Peter, Sir--18.7
- Pearson, E. Corvin--18.7
- Pinget, Robert--1.6 (from Hutchinson), 18.8 (8 in French)
- Pissaro, Esther--18.7
- Playfair, Nigel, Sir, 1874-1934--18.7
- Pound, Ezra, 1885-1972--18.7
- Raine, Kathleen, 1909- --18.7
- Rambert, Marie--18.7 (2)
- Read, Herbert Edward, Sir, 1893-1968--18.7 (6)
- Reavey, George, 1907- --18.7 (2)
- Ritchie, Philip Charles Thomson--18.9 (9)
- Ross, Alan (
London Magazine)--18.7
- Ross, Robert Baldwin, 1869-1918--18.7 (8)
- Runciman, Steven, Sir, 1903- --18.7
- Russell, Bertrand, 1872-1970--18.10 (13)
- Rutherston, Albert Daniel, 1881-1953--22.1
- Sackville-West, Edward, Hon., 1901-1965--18.11
- Sadler's Well Theatre (London)--18.11 (2)
- Saint-Denis, Michel, 1897- --19.1 (27)
- Saint-Denis, Suria--19.2 (6)
- Sandwich, George Charles Montague, 9th Earl of,
1874-1962--18.11
- Sculpture & Memorials (firm)--22.1
- Selfridge & Company--18.11
- Sharp, Clifford Dyce, 1883-1935--18.11 (3)
- Sheppard, John Tresidder, 1881- --18.11 (2)
- Sickert, Christine--18.11 (4)
- Sickert, Thérèse--18.11 (2)
- Sickert, Walter, 1860-1942--18.11 (4)
- Simon, Bernard--18.11
- Sitwell, Edith, Dame, 1887-1864--18.11
- Sitwell, Osbert, 1892-1969--18.11 (6), 22.1
- Smith, Matthew, Sir, 1879-1959--19.3 (25)
- Spencer, Stanley, Sir, 1891-1959--22.1 (2)
- Spender, Stephen, 1909- --18.11 (7)
- Steer, Philip Wilson, 1860-1942--19.4 (10)
- Strachey, Lytton, 1880-1932--1.8-9 (141 from Hutchinson), 19.5-10
(137), 22.1
- Strachey, James--18.11
- Street, G.S. (George Slythe), 1867-1936--18.11
- Suggia, Guilhermina, 1888-1950--18.11 (3)
- The Sunday Times (London)--1.6 (from
Hutchinson)
- Swift, Patrick--20.1 (18)
- Symons, Alphonse James Albert, 1900-1941--18.11
- Tal-Coat, Pierre--20.3 (9)
- Tanner, Robin, 1904- --22.1
- Tate Gallery--20.2
- Thomas, Henri--20.2 (2)
- Thompson, George--20.2 (5)
- Tonks, Henry, 1862-1937--20.4-21.1 (303), 22.3 (26)
- Tooth, Dorothy--20.2
- Ward, Nelson--21.2
- Waugh, Evelyn, 1903-1966--21.2 (2)
- Whiting, John Robert, 1917-1963--21.2 (4)
- Wilde, Dorothy--21.2
- Woolf, Leonard Sidney, 1880-1969--21.3 (18)
- Woolf, Virginia Stephen, 1882-1941--21.4-5 (128), 22.1 (3)
- Wright, David, 1920- --21.6 (30), 22.1
- Yeats, Jack Butler, 1871-1957--21.2 (3), 22.1 (3)