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The papers of John Osborne and Helen Dawson Osborne complement a number of previously
received additions to the Osborne Collection held at the Ransom Center. Obtained from
The
Hurst, the Osborne's residence in Clunton, Shropshire, England, after the death of
Helen
Osborne in 2004, the papers include works, notebooks, clippings, correspondence, financial,
and personal material for both John and Helen Osborne. Married in 1978, they formed
a close
working partnership in personal, professional, and financial affairs so that the content
of
the papers intertwine their mutual endeavors. However, it was possible to separate
portions
of Helen Osborne's papers as they relate to her formative years, correspondence, and
journalistic career. Her correspondence contains letters written solely to her, unlike
the
John Osborne correspondence which is often addressed to the both of them. With this
in mind,
the papers are organized into two distinct yet somewhat interwoven series: I. John
Osborne
and II. Helen Dawson Osborne. |
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Series I. John Osborne is arranged into six subseries: A. Published Works, 1966-2000;
B.
Notes and Notebooks, 1952-1994; C. Clippings, 1957-2003; D. Correspondence, 1966-1994;
Business and Financial, 1957-2003; and F. Career-Related and Personal, 1929-2002. |
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The published works in Subseries A. are arranged alphabetically by title and include
plays,
screenplays, and autobiographies. Most of the titles are reissues of previously published
plays by Faber and Faber and Oberon Books in collections, such as Four Plays (“A Sense of Detachment,” “The End of Me Old Cigar,”
“Jill and Jack,” and “A Place Calling Itself Rome”); John Osborne: Plays Two and Plays Three; Plays for England and Watch It Come Down; and Osborne's translation
of Hedda Gabler. These works are represented by uncorrected page proofs
and contain no original material such as notes or drafts. Correspondence included
with these
reissued titles was directed to Helen Osborne who mediated the production and publication
of
John Osborne's work toward the end of his life and after his death. The earliest work
is his
1966 production script for the film The Charge of the Light Brigade,
a project that led to a falling out between Osborne and his long-time friend and
collaborator Tony Richardson. England, My England is
well-represented with marked-up copies of J. A. Westrup's Purcell and Tony Palmer's Charles II, followed by a succession of film outlines and drafts
leading to the final script and bound presentation copy. Also of interest are extensive
handwritten notes for Déjàvu and a copy of the film script Handel inscribed to Osborne by director Tony Palmer. The papers
contain material for Osborne's autobiographical work A Better Class of Person (1981) in the form of a corrected
typescript, as well as BBC radio scripts. Looking Back, published
posthumously in 1999, combines A Better Class of Person and
Almost a Gentleman in one volume. Osborne's handwritten and typed
notes, as well as page proofs, are included for this title. |
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The notes and notebooks in Subseries B. provide revelatory content, for they were
written
over a considerable time span, 1952-1994, and contain insight into John Osborne's
frame of
mind, especially in his later years of ill health and disillusionment. Characteristically,
the entries are often constructed of brief paragraphs or runs of short phrases and
single
words. This is especially the case for entries in the years closer to his death when
his
handwriting became more erratic. Many of the notebooks contained inserted material
such as
notes and newspaper clippings. The loose material that arrived with the notebooks
is
gathered in two folders at the end of the notebook series. |
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A number of the notebooks have pages removed. Entries for the majority of the notebooks
are
dated. Undated entries were placed in approximate chronological order with imposed
dates
listed in brackets with question marks. The notebook entries that appear in quotation
marks
were obtained from the covers or first page of the notebooks. |
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Subseries C. contains numbered clippings scrapbooks from 1957-2003 and loose clippings
from
1989-2003. The numbered scrapbooks run from No. 3 to No. 21. Scrapbooks No. 2, No.
4, and
No. 5 are located with Osborne materials previously received at the Ransom Center.
Scrapbook
No. 1 appears to be an unnumbered item dated 1956-1961, from the earlier accession.
The
scrapbooks contain review articles of Osborne's plays and other works, as well as
general
articles on Osborne, supplied by a clippings service. There is considerable obituary
and
tribute material at the end of 1994 and early 1995. The clippings dwindle by 2003
as Helen
Osborne entered a period of ill health leading to her death on 12 January 2004. The
scrapbooks are in delicate condition and may require special handling, as the clippings
are
becoming brittle and less securely anchored to the support pages. |
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The correspondence in Subseries D. ranges from 1966, with early letters from John
Betjeman,
ending in December 1994 with Osborne's death. The arrangement is alphabetical by
correspondent name or organization. The bulk consists of personal letters and notes
addressed to Osborne alone or to John and Helen jointly. Infrequently, there are letters
addressed to John and Jill Bennett, his fourth wife. There is a small amount of Osborne's
outgoing drafts of letters in the last folder of this subseries and also scattered
throughout. An index to the correspondence is found at the end of the finding aid.
The
index, while comprehensive, is not exhaustive. For example, fan mail from the general
public
was not usually indexed. Notable correspondents include Lindsay Anderson, Lynn Barber,
Jill
Bennett, John Betjeman, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Bolt, Peter Bowles, Richard Burton, Noël
Coward, Gordon Dickerson, Margaret Drabble, Peter Egan, Richard Eyre, Edward Fox,
Robert
Fox, Michael Gambon, John Gielgud, Michael Gough, Richard Griffiths, Alec Guiness,
David
Hare, Neil Hartley, Michael Holroyd, Michael Holt, Pamela Lane, Dominic Lawson, Doris
Lessing, Peter Nichols, Laurence Olivier, Peter O'Toole, Tony Palmer, Harold Pinter,
Tony
Richardson, Jocelyn Rickards, Tony Snowdon, John Tydeman, Arnold Wesker, and Charles
Wood. |
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Subseries E. Business and Financial, 1957-2003 contains a significant amount of financial
and publisher correspondence, bank account statements, contracts and agreements, invoices
and receipts, royalty statements, and material related to J. O. Productions Ltd.,
the
company Osborne formed in 1961 for his business affairs. Of interest are the original
incorporation documents for J. J. Scripts which became J. O. Productions Ltd. and
its
Combined Register from 1961-1990. The Register lists the few directors and shareholders,
chiefly Osborne and his solicitor Oscar Beuselinck with Helen Osborne as secretary,
as well
as brief minutes of the directors' meetings. Correspondence in this subseries has
not been
indexed, except for drafts of letters from both Osbornes found throughout. Included
are
letters from accountants, banks, solicitors, agents, production companies, publishers,
television and radio networks, and governmental agencies especially the Inland Revenue.
This
correspondence chronicles Osborne's financial success as a playwright, as well as
his
penchant for underestimating his income/debt ratio and his dislike of paying taxes.
In later
years the financial standing of the Osbornes became increasingly bleak, as years of
spending
beyond their means, coupled with an escalating tax liability, finally became an
insurmountable burden. The debt load was crushing at the time of Osborne's death and
Helen
spent her remaining years in dialogue with accountants, creditors, banks, and the
Inland
Revenue in an attempt to float the debt against dwindling income. In 1998, the Arvon
Foundation stepped in to secure The Hurst as their fourth writing center, thus providing
Helen financial relief and securing The Hurst as her residence for her remaining years. |
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A wide variety of material is included in Subseries F. Career-Related and Personal,
1929-2002. Leading the group is correspondence related to disputes and legal issues
from
1961-2002, arranged in rough chronological order, involving Woodfall Film Productions
Ltd.,
Jill Bennett, The Sunday Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Peters Fraser
& Dunlop, Nicholas de Jongh and Anthony Creighton, biographer Peter Whitebrook, and
ITC
Channel 4. Spanning decades, various people and institutions were called to task for
a range
of reasons, wrangling over personal or professional matters. Some disputes ended in
lawsuits, others were mediated by solicitors, and some ran their course in an exchange
of
heated missives. Also included in this subseries are personal documents such as passports,
a
1982 will, as well as birth, death, and wedding certificates. A file titled 'Glory
Box'
yielded clippings, notes, greeting cards and postcards, photographs, and a diabetes
record
book. Some of the material may have been pinned up, as the corners bear thumb tack
holes. A
number of the cards are written by John and Helen to each other for various occasions.
One
of the photographs captures Osborne holding a young girl, probably his daughter Nolan.
The
photo mat is covered with a scatter-shot of Osborne's notations, front and back, referencing
themes of love and hatred. There are also photographs from the 1980 'Playwrights Mafia
Meeting,' two family photos, the Osbornes aboard the Queen Elizabeth
2 in 1981, and clippings related to Jill Bennett. The subseries also contains two
non-literary notebooks, one titled 'Committees' and the other '1991.' Osborne collected
and
annotated a considerable number of newspaper articles, clippings, and other publications
dating from 1960 through the 1990s ranging in topics of interest to him. Also present
is the
12 December 1929, issue of the London Times, the day of Osborne's
birth, and a sampling of stationery used by the Osbornes. |
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The last subseries contains works by others, including material on several biographies
of
Osborne by Luc Gilleman, John Heilpern, and Peter Whitebrook. There is also a short
piece on
Strindberg's The Father by Jan Myrdal and Osborne's annotated
copy of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. The presence of a single
typescript page on comedian Max Miller is likely due to Osborne's interest in Miller
in
connection with his play The Entertainer. |
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Series II. Helen Dawson Osborne is arranged into four subseries: A. Writings, 1971-2003;
B.
Notebooks, circa 1963-2003; C. Correspondence, circa 1941-2003; and D. Personal,
1939-2003. |
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Reflecting Helen Osborne’s long career as a journalist and arts editor, the bulk of
the
writings in Subseries A. consists of articles and reviews written for The Observer, 1971-1972, and The Sunday Telegraph from 1988-2003. Material for The Observer consists of a clippings scrapbook of theater reviews.
Arranged alphabetically by person or subject, The Sunday Telegraph material contains Osborne's typescripts and
corresponding clippings of the published articles when present in the papers. Osborne
wrote
about and reviewed authors, actors, musicians, and playwrights as well as a column
“Books of
the Year.” Her piece on widowhood and Denis Thatcher's death drew a large response
from her
readership as evidenced by letters written to her after the article appeared. Her
wit and
astute critiques informed her writing which was highly regarded by readers and colleagues
alike. Also present in this series is an undated novel-length work Crunch, likely
written in
the mid-1960s. |
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Subseries B. Notebooks, circa 1963-2003, spans Osborne’s entire professional life
and
references her journalism, although many of the notebooks pertain to her personal
life with
John. |
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The correspondence in Subseries C. ranges from early Dawson family letters from before
World War II to 2003, with the bulk of the letters from the 1960s through 2003. Many
of the
names are familiar from the letters written to both Osbornes found in Series I., as
friends
and associates continued their correspondence after his death. Likewise, there is
much
correspondence written to Helen Dawson before she married in 1978. There are two folders
of
greeting cards, notes, postcards, and letters that John Osborne wrote to Helen over
the
years and large runs of letters from her parents and Richard Findlater. Other correspondents
include friends from her college days as well as Eileen Atkins, Michael Attenborough,
Margaret Aynsley, Alan Bates, Arnold Beck, Prue Bellak, Jill Bennett, Sir Robin
Chichester-Clark, David Hare, Dominic Lawson, Penny Mortimer, Peter Nichols, Tony
Richardson, Kevin Spacey, David Storey, Peter Stenson, Joseph Strick, and Olga Wilkinson.
This correspondence is indexed at the end of the finding aid. |
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Subseries D. Personal, 1939-2003 includes academic records from high school and college;
address, birthday, and daybooks; material for John Osborne's memorial service, personal
documents, and a clippings scrapbook. There is also a folder of material on the Arvon
Foundation, containing several newsletters and Helen Osborne's planning notes for
a 1998
celebration announcing The John Osborne Centre at the Hurst. The scrapbook for 1959-1961
contains clippings related to her Rotary Foundation scholarship and involvement with
the
dramatic society while at Durham College. After graduating from Durham, she spent
a year
abroad on a Rotary Foundation scholarship attending Brown University in Providence,
Rhode
Island for the academic year 1960-1961. |
