An Inventory of Her Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
Creator:
Sitwell, Georgia Doble, 1906-1980
Title:
Georgia Doble Sitwell Collection
Dates:
1901-1974
Extent:
8 boxes (3.36 linear feet), 1 oversize folder
Abstract:
The Georgia Doble Sitwell Collection is
composed primarily of personal correspondence, with a small quantity of business papers
having to do with investments and financial matters relating to her Canadian
family.
RLIN Record #:
TXRC03-A?
Language:
English and French
Access:
Open for research
Administrative Information
Acquisition:
Purchase, 1964-1990
Processed by:
Chelsea Dinsmore, Isabel Morales, Richard Workman 2003
Georgia Doble, the Canadian-born wife of Sacheverell Sitwell, was born in 1906 to
a banker
of Cornish descent. She met Sitwell at a party in 1924 while participating in the
social
gaiety of the London season. Georgia was familiar with Sitwell’s Southern Baroque Art and enjoyed his company, but she waited almost
a year before accepting his marriage proposals. They were married in Paris on October
12,
1925. Their first son, Reresby, was born in 1927 and his younger brother, Francis,
in
1935.
Georgia found it difficult to blend in with the Sitwell family, which had more than
the
usual share of dynamics. She did her best to play the self-assigned role of muse,
but
Sitwell was not a social man and Georgia missed the busy whirl of London. She attended
many
social events without him, which led to a great deal of friction between them. They
both had
affairs over the years, but remained deeply attached to one another throughout their
lives.
Georgia died in 1980.
Sources:
Bradford, Sarah. Sacheverell Sitwell: Splendours and Miseries.
London: Sinclair-Stevenson, 1993.
National Portrait Gallery. The Sitwells and the Art of the 1920s
and 1930s. London: National Portrait Gallery Publications, 1994.
Scope and Contents
The Georgia Doble Sitwell Collection is composed primarily of personal correspondence,
with
a small quantity of business papers having to do with investments and financial matters
relating to her Canadian family. The collection is organized in two series: Series
I.
Correspondence, 1901-1974 (7 boxes); and Series II. Business Papers, 1926-1974 (1
box).
Portions of this collection were previously accessible through a preliminary inventory
of
the Sacheverell Sitwell Collection. They have been re-cataloged as part of a retrospective
conversion project.
The personal correspondence series is notable for the variety of people represented.
Along
with members of the Sitwell family and their close associates, including David Horner
and
Frank Magro, Georgia's correspondents included Lawrence Audrain, John Lehmann, Loelia
Lindsay, René Massigli, Evelyn Waugh, and Mae West. There are also several folders
of
correspondents identified by first name only. An index of all correspondents is found
at the
end of this finding aid. Business papers include statements from the firms Coutts
and
Lloyds, correspondence with publishers regarding Sacheverell's work, and general business
papers, including an automobile certificate of ownership.
Related Material
Other materials related to Georgia Sitwell may be found in the following manuscript
collections at the Ransom Center:
Lehmann, John
Patmore,
Derek
Sitwell, Edith, Dame
Sitwell, Osbert
Sitwell,
Sacheverell
Index Terms
People
Aberconway, Christabel Mary Melville
Macnaghten McLaren, Baroness.
Audrain, Lawrence A.
Bryher, 1894-1983.
Horner, David.
Lehmann, John, 1907-
Lindsay, Loelia, 1902-
Magro, Frank.
Massigli, René Lucien Daniel.
Sitwell, Edith, Dame, 1887-1964.
Sitwell, George Reresby, Sir,
1860-1943.
Sitwell, Osbert, 1892-1969.
Waugh, Evelyn, 1903-1966.
West, Mae.
Subjects
Sitwell, Sacheverell, 1897-1988.
Sitwell family.
Places
England -- Social life and customs -- 20th
century.
