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The papers of British novelist Radclyffe Hall and long-time partner British sculptor
and
translator Una Vincenzo, Lady Troubridge, contain Hall's works in manuscript, including
The Well of Loneliness (1928), the classic lesbian novel
for which Hall is best known; Troubridge's voluminous diaries (131 volumes, 1930-1951);
and
correspondence with Evguenia Souline, the Russian nurse émigrée with whom Hall had
a lengthy affair. Their combined papers include numerous handwritten and typed manuscripts,
notebooks, biographical information, business correspondence, clippings, contracts,
diaries,
genealogical information, medical reports, photographs, piano-vocal scores, scrapbooks,
and
translations. The papers are arranged in four series: I. Radclyffe Hall, 1912-1939,
undated
(26 boxes); II. Una Vincenzo, Lady Troubridge, 1930-1962, undated (12 boxes); III.
Additional Troubridge Diaries, 1943-1951 (8 boxes); IV. Additional Hall and Troubridge
Papers, 1806, 1919-1944 (6 boxes). |
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These papers were purchased between 1960 and 1999: R242 (1960), R2467 (1965), R13774
(1996), and R14474 (1999). The largest group of papers was acquired in 1996. After
Hall's
death in 1943, this material remained in Troubridge's possession and was bequeathed
to close
friend Nicola Rossi-Lemeni when Troubridge died in 1963. These Hall and Troubridge
papers
now form Series I. and Series II. Additional Troubridge diaries acquired in 1999 make
up
Series III., while Series IV. comprises the earliest Hall and Troubridge papers acquired
by
the Ransom Center in 1960 and 1965. |
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The Hall and Troubridge Papers were previously described in three separate finding
aids.
The finding aids were created in 1997 (for R13774), 1999 (for R14474), and 2015 (converted
card catalog descriptions for R242 and R2467). These descriptions have now been combined
into this single finding aid. When present, pagination and dates for works have been
added
to the earlier descriptions, although the manuscripts written in notebooks are often
unpaginated and undated. The approximate dates now given for some undated manuscripts
were
obtained from information by Sally Cline or Jana Funke. |
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With the exception of one item, the materials in Series I. and II. remain as originally
numbered in boxes 1-37. The "Untitled handwritten and typescript
drafts" located in folder 22.1 were treated for mold contamination and are now
separately housed as folders 51.1-4. Series III. now occupies boxes 38-45 (previously
numbered 1-8), and Series IV. now occupies boxes 46-50 and 52 (previously numbered
1-6). |
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Series I. Radclyffe Hall, 1912-1939, undated (boxes 1-25, 51) |
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Material for Radclyffe Hall is arranged in two subseries: A. Works, and B. Career
and
Personal Papers. |
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Works by Hall are arranged into three groups: Novels, followed by Short Stories and
Sketches, and Other Works. The novels are arranged in alphabetical order by title
and
include both published and unpublished works. Chief among the published works is Adam's Breed (1926), which won the Femina Vie Heureuse prize and
the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1927. Hall's best known work, The Well of Loneliness (1928), is well represented by notebooks and typescripts,
along with papers related to the court case banning the book in Britain. Other published
novels represented include The Forge (1924), The Master of the House (1932), A Saturday
Life (1925), The Sixth Beatitude (1936), and The Unlit Lamp (1924). Unfinished and unpublished novels include
The Cunningham Code, Emblem Hurlstone, Michael West, and an untitled work in which
"Otfried Bergen" is the main character. A small amount of
correspondence, usually of a research or business nature, is scattered throughout
the works.
Many of these letters were written on Hall's behalf by Troubridge. |
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Hall's published and unpublished Short Stories and Sketches are also arranged
alphabetically. Several previously unpublished works in this group were published
in 2016
(see The World and Other Unpublished Works of Radclyffe Hall,
edited by Jana Funke). Filed before the stories is a notebook "List of stories sent to Miss Heath" referring to Audrey Heath, Hall's agent of many
years. The individual titles in Hall's published volume of five short stories, Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself, are present along with sketches for two
untitled works. Other works include untitled drafts, lectures, letters to the editor,
drafts
of memoirs, and poems. Several vocal scores are also present, arranged alphabetically. |
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Hall's Career and Personal Papers in Subseries B. include biographical material written
by
Hall, scrapbooks containing clippings covering the Adam's
Breed awards and the notoriety of The Well of
Loneliness, and contracts for published works with related correspondence. Hall
and Troubridge's love of animals and their dog breeding avocation are documented in
newspaper clippings of dog shows, kennel registrations, and photographs. In addition,
a
photograph album belonging to Hall's father and Hall's writing portfolio are also
present. |
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Series II. Una Vincenzo, Lady Troubridge, 1930-1962, undated (boxes
26-37) |
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Una Troubridge's papers are arranged in two subseries: A. Works and B. Other Papers.
The
Works subseries is arranged in three groups, as Diaries, Daybooks, and Writings. Materials
in Subseries B. Other Papers include correspondence, a photo album and other photographs,
a
scrapbook, a family tree, and a manuscript by Vernon Lee. |
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The works are dominated by Troubridge's 60-volume set of diaries written from the
last days
of 1930 to June 21, 1943, just months before Hall's death. Troubridge writes in the
first
entry "I have determined, after many years of intermission, to
keep a diary of sorts in order to supplement the daybooks that I have kept regularly
for
sixteen years. In these I can and do state merely the facts of our daily engagements,
John's and mine, and there is no room for any detail such as might later be amusing
to
re-read and remember." These books chronicle the day-to-day activities of Hall and
Troubridge, documenting everything from mundane weather reports to details of significant
events. Written mostly from their home in Rye, Sussex, they also cover other locations
during their travels, especially Italy. The diaries are supplemented by four of Troubridge's
daybooks for the years 1934, 1935, 1941, and 1942 that provide the briefer daily information
Troubridge entered in a printed yearly desk- or appointment-type diary. Troubridge's
writings in this series include handwritten notebooks on various topics, drafts and
galley
proofs of The Life and Death of Radclyffe Hall published in
1961, and translations of works by Colette and Matilde Serao. |
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Subseries B. contains correspondence between Evguenia Souline and Troubridge, primarily
dating between 1950 and 1951. These letters describe Souline's continual requests
for
financial assistance in addition to an annual annuity. Correspondence between Troubridge
and
solicitor Harold Rubinstein detail Troubridge's monetary outlays to Souline and other
financial standings. Of importance is a letter "To the Executors
of my Will" written by Troubridge in February 1944 and revised in September 1944
regarding the nature of Troubridge and Hall's relationship with Souline and instructions
for
the destruction of Troubridge's diaries. A letter from Home Secretary J. Chuter Ede,
written
in 1946 in response to Troubridge's request for permission to publish a memorial edition
of
The Well of Loneliness, states that republishing the book
could invite court proceedings. Also present are two letters from Troubridge's daughter,
Andrea Turnbull, written in approximately 1950 from Ethiopia. |
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The remainder of this subseries includes photographs of Una and husband Ernest Troubridge
as children and as newlyweds, and of their daughter Andrea as a child. The history
of Una's
family, the Taylors, is documented in a scrapbook and a Taylor family tree. Also present
is
a bound handwritten manuscript "The Wicked Voice" by
Vernon Lee (pseudonym of Violet Paget) from the library of Hugh Walpole. |
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Series III. Additional Troubridge Diaries, 1943-1951 (boxes 38-45,
formerly numbered 1-8) |
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This series contains 71 diaries that date from 1943 to 1951, a continuation of the
earlier
Troubridge diaries located in Series II. Beginning on December 11, 1943 and ending
on
January 21, 1951, Troubridge wrote these diary entries in the form of letters to Radclyffe
Hall, who had died on October 7, 1943. The diaries cover the events surrounding Hall's
death, Hall's will, Troubridge's unsuccessful attempt to get The Well
of Loneliness published in Britain in 1946, move to Italy, and friendship there
with Romaine Brooks. Volume numbers 1, 2, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 51, and 53 were not
acquired
and are known to be missing. |
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Series IV. Additional Hall and Troubridge Papers, 1806, 1919-1944 (boxes
46-50, 52, formerly numbered 1-6) |
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This material represents the Ransom Center's earliest Hall and Troubridge acquisitions,
which were previously cataloged in a card catalog. Please see the explanatory note
at the
end of this finding aid for information regarding the arrangement of the manuscripts
as well
as the abbreviations commonly used in descriptions. The papers are divided into three
subseries: A. Works, B. Letters, and C. Miscellaneous. Hall's works include one poem
and two
typescripts for The Sixth Beatitude. A small number of
letters to Jane Caruth and Winifred Macy join over 500 letters Hall wrote to Evguenia
Souline from 1934 to 1942 during the course of their long affair. Also present are
more than
60 letters from Troubridge to Souline, 1934-1942, two medical reports for Hall, and
an 1806
genealogy of the Radclyffe family. |
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Condition |
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Some materials in Series I. and II. are extensively water damaged, suffering rust
and mold
deterioration. Readers are asked to employ caution in using fragile material in the
collection. Three items that suffered mold damage were vacuum treated, but mold may
still be
present. For health reasons, patrons may consider wearing gloves and a dust/mist respirator
while handling these items (folders 14.4-15.1, 33.4, and 51.1-4). |
