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The papers of British writer Bruce Hamilton span a fifty year
writing and teaching career, including material for his published and
unpublished works, as well as correspondence and material related to his
family. |
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The collection is organized in four series: I. Works; II.
Correspondence, 1929-1990; III. Personal; and IV. Family Papers. |
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The works in Series I are arranged alphabetically and
primarily include drafts and notes of unpublished or minor works, and
biographical works about family members and family history. Hamilton is known
for his novels
To Be Hanged;
Middle Class Murder;
Pro; and
So Sad, So Fresh; the biography
of his brother Patrick,
The Light Went Out; and the play
"The Home Front" which he
wrote with his sister Helen. While the collection contains only associated
material for some of these published works, it does include typescript drafts
for the early years of his autobiography; an article on his father Bernard; a
novel about his brother Patrick,
"A Case for Cain"; a book on
Shelley and Elizabeth Hitchener; as well as articles, plays, and poems.
Hamilton's literary career was also devoted to cricket coverage and the history
of British colonies in the Caribbean, especially during his thirty-five years
in Barbados. Much of this material is present in the form of newspaper
articles, as well as Hamilton's regular world events column in the
Barbados Advocate. |
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The personal correspondence of Hamilton and his wife Aileen
is found in Series II, especially letters exchanged throughout their marriage.
Letters from other family members, friends, and publishers are also
present. |
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Series III contains Hamilton's personal papers including
articles about him, biographical and genealogical information, financial
papers, notebooks, and family photographs. Material on Hamilton's 1964
appointment as a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael
and
Saint George is found in this series. |
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The family papers in Series IV include considerable material
on Aileen's artistic career as well as her daybooks from 1968-1984. Material
on
Hamilton's brother Patrick and sister Helen, a writer and an actress known
by
her stage name Diana, is also present. |
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Several of Aileen Hamilton's sketches were transferred to the
HRC Art Collection. |
