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The English author Rupert Croft-Cooke published novels (including detective fiction
written
under the pen name Leo Bruce), poetry, plays, and nonfiction books on diverse topics,
including a biography of Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie, 1963) and
The Verdict of You All (1955), which concerns Croft-Cooke's
conviction and imprisonment, like Oscar Wilde, for alleged gross indecency. The papers
include manuscripts of his works, research materials, extensive correspondence, and
personal
papers including financial and legal records, and military and school papers. |
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The papers that were acquired by the Ransom Center between 1964 and 1974 were originally
described in a card catalog and were organized into four series: I. Works (58 boxes),
II.
Letters (outgoing correspondence, 3 boxes), III. Recipient (incoming correspondence,
17
boxes), IV. Miscellaneous (personal papers and third-party works and correspondence,
11
boxes). Now added to these are one box of additional materials previously undescribed
in the
card catalog, and another thirteen boxes of papers acquired between 1978 and 1998. |
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Series I. Works, 1914-1974, undated, consists of manuscripts for Croft-Cooke’s extensive
published output, including books of autobiographies, biographies, nonfiction works,
and
novels. This series contains manuscripts for nineteen of the autobiographical volumes
in
The Sensual World series; twenty-four novels; an additional
twenty-four detective novels published as Leo Bruce (twenty-two Carolus Deene series,
two
Sergeant Beef series); seven books on cookery, food or spirits; three biographies;
one book
of criticism; and one book of commentary. Manuscripts for articles, plays, poetry,
and short
stories are also numerous and several other genres or formats are present, such as
anthologies, collections, broadcasts, columns, juvenilia, lectures, notes, reader’s
reports,
reviews, and screenplays. The works also include unpublished materials, as well as
proposals
for works as evidenced by overviews, outlines, summaries, tables of contents, sample
chapters, etc. See the Index of Works in this finding aid for a complete list of titles
present. |
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Croft-Cooke created all of his first drafts in longhand and his longtime partner,
Joseph
Susei Mari (also known as Joseph Sussainathan), typed his manuscripts and correspondence.
In
addition to the pseudonym Leo Bruce used for detective novels and short stories, several
other pseudonyms appear on works in this series: Peter Cushion, John Seeley Marr,
Guy
Milstone Rogers, and Jeremy Smith. Another name, Taylor Croft, was used for The Cloven Hoof (1932), but it is not among the works in these
papers. |
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Croft-Cooke’s writings reflect his life and travel in many countries during the 1920s
and
1930s; the interwar period, his service during World War II from 1940 to 1946, and
the
aftermath of war in Great Britain; and his imprisonment in England in 1953 and subsequent
exodus to Tangier for many years. Places well-represented as topics include South
America,
especially Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay; Great Britain; Europe, including Germany,
Italy,
Portugal, and Spain; North Africa; and India and Madagascar. His writings also reflect
his
many interests and enthusiasms, such as literature, authors, and books; the circus;
cookery,
food, and spirits; darts and pubs, and the Romani people. |
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Croft-Cooke wrote extensively on Romanies through many articles and short stories
(some
collected in A Few Gypsies, 1955), his novel Glorious (1940), and The Moon in My Pocket:
Life with the Romanies (1948). Although Croft-Cooke used the terms Gypsies or
Gipsies that were in common use during this period and are now considered derogatory,
his
experiences with and studies of the Romani people told their stories and helped to
educate
readers. Croft-Cooke titles of works and correspondent names with these two outdated
terms
have been retained in this finding aid for historical context, but the term Romanies
has
been substituted in all subject references. |
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Croft-Cooke published The Verdict of You All (1955) about his
experience as one of many who were subjected to anti-homosexual prosecutions in Great
Britain during the 1950s, and he also wrote important studies of the lives of Lord
Alfred
Douglas, Oscar Wilde, and other authors in Bosie (1963), Feasting with Panthers: A New Consideration of Some Late Victorian
Writers (1967), and The Unrecorded Life of Oscar Wilde
(1972). This series also includes an unfinished manuscript, Thought Is Free (circa
1955-1956), that is described in acquisition documentation as a "book on some imaginary causes of homosexuality." |
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Series II. Letters, 1910-1971, undated, and Series III. Recipient, 1926-1973, undated,
contain Croft-Cooke’s outgoing and incoming correspondence respectively. Many of the
outgoing letters are handwritten drafts. There are also outgoing typewritten carbon
copy
letters, sometimes filed with the incoming correspondence. The correspondents include
other
writers, agents, editors, publications, and publishers, as well as family, friends,
and
fans. Among the most well-represented correspondents in the papers are Allen & Unwin,
Ltd., John Betjeman, Hector Bolitho, British Broadcasting Corporation, Richard Blake
Brown,
Lord David Cecil, Nöel Coward, Rhys Davies, Lord Alfred Douglas, Dublin University
Library,
John Galsworthy, Sir John Gielgud, Louis Golding, Michael Harrison, Vyvyan Holland,
H.
Montgomery Hyde, Lord Patrick Kinross, John Lehmann, John Lodwick, Sir Compton Mackenzie,
Joseph Mari, Robin Maugham, W. S. Maugham, Beverley Nichols, Oliver Onions, Joe Orton,
Martin Secker, Sir John Colling Squire, Gladys Bronwyn Stern, Alec Waugh, and Charles
Wright. Members of Croft-Cooke’s family whose letters are present include Geoffrey
Taylor
Cooke (brother), Hubert Bruce Cooke (father), Lawrence Alfred Bruce Cooke (brother),
Lucy
Taylor Cooke (mother), and Olive Cooke (sister). The Index of Letters and Index of
Recipients in this finding aid includes the names all identified individual and corporate
body correspondents. |
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Series IV. Miscellaneous, 1893-1971, undated, contains personal papers as well as
third-party works and correspondence. In the series are materials related to Croft-Cooke’s
research for several books, namely The Circus Book (1947),
The Common-Room Book (1948?), Feasting
with Panthers (1967), Madeira (1961), and Sherry (1955). In connection with Bosie (1963), there are some manuscripts by Lord Alfred Douglas as well as a
number of letters from Douglas to various recipients, and also letters written to
Croft-Cooke in response to Bosie. Other third-party letters
include several written to Lord Patrick Kinross, who wrote to allies to raise money
to help
Croft-Cooke after his release from prison. Other personal records for Croft-Cooke
in this
series include bills, fan letters, financial papers, World War II service records,
literary
sales records, royalty statements, and school papers. Because of the miscellaneous
and
varied nature of materials in this series, the Index of Miscellaneous in this finding
aid
includes detailed descriptions taken from the card catalog. |
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The Additional Materials segment, 1906-1971, includes one box of items that were not
previously cataloged, but which were probably originally destined for the Miscellaneous
series. Present are deeds and other legal documents, some of which concern the will
and
estate of George Crafter Croft; a file of medical papers; some dog pedigrees; and
several
publishing agreements. |
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The Additional Acquisitions segment, 1903-1977, undated, is made up of three acquisitions
received between 1978 and 1998 now described in this finding aid: 1978 (R8088), 15
boxes of
papers; 1990 (R12107), manuscript of "Termination Two"; and
1998 (R14286), letter from Croft-Cooke to Dr. Nöel Cortès. |
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The 1978 (R8088) papers are arranged in three groups: Works (9 boxes); Correspondence
Files
(3 boxes); and Career and Personal Papers (1 box), now totaling 13 boxes. |
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The Works, 1923-1977, undated, are dominated by short stories (5 boxes) by Croft-Cooke
or
Leo Bruce and articles (2 boxes). The short story files created before 1950 nearly
always
include manuscripts (handwritten and/or typed) plus printed clippings or tearsheets,
and
sometimes a cover sheet with word count, date/s published and publication names. The
articles represent a wide variety of topics -- book collecting and selling; book reviews;
the circus; clothing; cookery, foods and spirits; darts and pubs; freedom; literature
and
writers; prisons; Romanies; theatre; travel; and war -- but are mostly present as
clippings
or other printed versions, along with some manuscripts. |
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Among the book-length works are two autobiographical works, The Long
Way Home (1974) and The Green, Green Grass (1977), and
two novels, Death of a Bovver Boy by Leo Bruce (1974) and Conduct Unbecoming (1975). Other works include a broadcast, a
collection of letters, plays, poems, and a screenplay. The Index of Works also contains
titles from this Additional Acquisitions segment, showing all titles present in the
papers
in one alphabetical sequence, as well as which titles are located in multiple locations. |
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The Correspondence Files, 1968-1974, remain organized as Croft-Cooke kept them, with
correspondence maintained in four categories: Bank, Accounts; Domestic (household,
travel,
etc.); Personal, Fans; and Writing (literary matters). The correspondence in this
group is
not yet indexed. |
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The Career and Personal Papers, 1903-1966, undated, contain more Croft-Cooke book
proposals, lists of works, book promotion materials, materials about Oscar Wilde,
and stills
from the film version of Seven Thunders (1957). |
