Collection Summary
Thompson, Flora, 1876-1947
Flora Thompson Papers
1912-1965 (bulk 1921-1948)
Manuscript Collection MS-04211
4 boxes, 1 oversize folder (1.75 linear feet)
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin
The collection contains typescripts, including manuscripts
for all of Thompson's published novels, as well as several unpublished works, magazine
leaves, correspondence, scrapbooks, clippings, photocopies, woodcut illustrations, and
photographs.
English
Acquisition:
Purchase, 1967 (R3561); Gift, 1993 (G10058)
Access:
Open for research
Processed by:
Stephen Mielke, 1997
The correspondence found in this collection consists mainly of photocopies of Thompson’s
letters to Arthur and Anna Ball from 1931 to 1947. The originals of this correspondence are
held at The University of Exeter Library in England, and permission to copy or quote these
letters must be obtained from Exeter.
Biographical Sketch
Flora Jane (Timms) Thompson was born December 5, 1876 (some sources state 1877), at Juniper
Hill, Oxfordshire, England, to Albert Timms, a stone mason, and Emma Timms, a nursemaid. A
voracious reader as a child, Flora Timms grew up with five younger siblings in a stern and
impoverished household headed by an alcoholic father. At age 14, she left home to become a
post office clerk in a nearby village where she continued her education through reading,
writing, and observing the surrounding countryside in her off time. She worked in several
post offices before meeting and marrying John Thompson, a fellow clerk, in 1903.
Flora Thompson left the postal service after her marriage and gave birth to a daughter,
Winifred, in 1903 and a son, Henry, in 1909. She continued to write while raising her
children and was first published after winning a literary essay contest in
The Ladies Companion magazine. One year later her first short story
appeared in the same publication. During World War I, the Thompson family moved to Liphook
and Flora Thompson rejoined the post office. She gave birth to another son, Peter, in 1918,
but continued to write, and in 1920 began publishing short stories in The Catholic Fireside magazine. In 1921 she started a series of
articles titled Out of Doors that focused on changes in the
seasons and nature conservancy. In 1922, she changed the title of these monthly essays to
The Peverel Papers, and they appeared in The Catholic Fireside until 1927. Thompson also wrote The Fireside Reading Circle series from 1923 to 1925 which focused
on the study of English literature and literary figures. She ended this series when she
began The Peverel Society, a correspondence club that offered literary instruction and
criticism to its members from 1925 to 1941.
Thompson's first published book was a collection of poems titled
Bog Myrtle and Peat (1921). After its publication she continued to
publish journal articles and work at the post office with her husband. In 1928, the
Thompsons moved to Devon and she began to focus her article writing on her childhood
memories. Using these articles as a basis, she published her first novel, a fictionalized
autobiography titled Lark Rise in 1939. She continued the biographical
theme in her next two works Over to Candleford (1941) and
Lark Rise to Candleford (1943). These three novels received great
critical praise as historical accounts of the economic, social, and cultural life of
pre-industrial rural Oxfordshire and were published under one cover in 1945 as Lark Rise to Candleford. Thompson's advancing age, the trials of
World War II, and the death of her youngest son in the war wore heavily on her while writing
these novels. She died at Devon in 1947, but not before finishing a continuation of her
first three books titled Still Glides the Stream,
published posthumously in 1948. Yet another biographical work, Heatherly, was written in 1944 but was not published until 1979
along with selected articles from The Catholic Fireside in A Country Calendar and Other Writings. Other Thompson articles from
The Catholic Fireside were published in the 1986 book The Peverel Papers.
Index Terms
People
Brown, Evelyn Scott.
Lamb, Lynton.
Lane, Margaret.
Subjects
Authors, English, 20th century.
Country life, England, History, 19th
century.
Places
Hampshire (England), Social life and customs.
Oxfordshire (England), Social life and customs.
Document Types
Scrapbooks.
Photographs.
Sources:
Additional information on Flora Thompson and her works can be found in:
Flora Thompson: The Story of the Lark Rise Writer by Gillian Lindsay
(London: Robert Hale, 1990).
Flora Thompson by Margaret Lane (London: J. Murray, 1976).
Provenance:
The bulk of the Thompson papers were purchased in 1967 from Winifred Money, the literary
executor for the estate of Winifred Thompson, Flora Thompson's daughter. Photocopies of
correspondence from Flora Thompson to Arthur and Anna Ball and H.J. Massingham were donated
in 1993 by Thompson biographer Gillian Lindsay.
Scope and Contents
Typescripts, magazine leaves, correspondence, scrapbooks, clippings, photocopies, woodcut
illustrations, and photographs reflect the literary activities of Flora Thompson from 1912
until her death in 1947. Included among these materials are items collected by Thompson's
daughter, Winifred, that document the publication of Thompson's works from the time of her
death up to 1965.
The papers have been organized into four series: I. Works, 1912-1948 (15 folders); II. The
Peverel Society, 1936, undated (4 folders); III. Correspondence, 1921-1965, undated (bulk
1931-1947) (5 folders); and IV. Scrapbooks, 1921-1965, undated (6 folders).
The bulk of the collection, contained in the Works series, consists of typed manuscripts
with handwritten editorial corrections. Included are manuscripts for all of Thompson's
published novels, as well as several unpublished works. Most of these pieces are represented
by one full draft manuscript, although some early draft fragments are present, as are a
large number of articles that Thompson published in various magazines and later adapted for
use in her novels.
The correspondence found in this collection consists mainly of photocopies of Thompson's
letters to Arthur and Anna Ball from 1931 to 1947. The originals of this correspondence are
held at The University of Exeter Library in England and permission to copy or quote these
letters must be obtained from Exeter.
The earliest materials, dating from 1912 to 1920 are magazine articles written for
The Lady's Companion, The Literary Monthly, and The Catholic Fireside, but the bulk of the collection coincides with
the publication of Thompson's first book in 1921 through her death in 1947, and subsequent
publication of Still Glides the Stream in 1948. Materials dating
after 1947 were collected by Thompson's daughter.
Series Descriptions
Series I. Works, 1912-1948 (15 folders)
Flora Thompson's literary works are documented in this series with hand edited
typescripts of her published novels
Lark Rise (1939), Over to Candleford (1941), Candleford Green (1943), Still Glides the Stream (1948) and Heatherly, which was written in 1944 but not published until
1979 in A Country Calendar and Other Writings. Also
present are typescripts for several unpublished and unfinished works as well as many
unidentified fragments. Unfortunately, only preliminary draft fragments exist for Lark Rise, and there is no manuscript for her first publication,
a collection of poetry titled Bog Myrtle and Peat. Many of
the manuscripts were typed on the verso of used sheets of paper due to shortages caused
by World War II.
Thompson's journalistic writing is well reflected by the presence of a large number of
printed magazine short stories and articles written by Thompson between 1912 and 1927
for
The Lady's Companion, The Literary Monthly, and The Catholic Fireside. Included in these torn-out magazine
leaves are three series of articles titled Out of Doors, The Peverel Papers, and
The Fireside Reading Circle.
The materials in this series are arranged chronologically as novels or as articles. The
materials grouped as novels are dated by their year of publication or by the approximate
year they were written if unpublished. Many of the materials grouped as articles have no
identifiable date, therefore they are arranged by approximate date under each
publication or series title. The remaining items in the series, identified and arranged
as received, consist of one 1935 desk calendar containing hand written children's poems;
five undated short stories identified as
Early Free Lance Journalism; and one folder of typed and hand
written fragments labeled Poetry and Prose.
Series II. The Peverel Society, 1936, undated (4 folders)
The materials of the Peverel Society, started in 1925 by Flora Thompson and Mildred
Humble-Smith, consist largely of undated, typed short stories by Thompson and other
members of the Society. Several of the Thompson stories also appeared as magazine
articles. One example,
The Tail-less Fox, is
present in this series in both typescript and printed form. Also found in these
materials is a six-lesson verse writing course written by Thompson. The three remaining
items in the series are a sheet of letterhead, an advertising brochure for the society,
and The Peverel Book of Verse, a small book of 56
poems by Society members, selected and edited by Thompson. The materials are arranged as
they were received.
Series III. Correspondence, 1921-1965, undated (bulk 1931-1947) (5
folders)
The majority of this series consists of photocopies of outgoing correspondence from
Flora Thompson to Arthur and Anna Ball dated from 1931 to 1947. Thompson first began
corresponding with this couple through The Peverel Society and continued to exchange
letters until her death. Also present is a photocopy of one letter to H. J. Massingham
discussing his introduction for
Lark Rise to Candleford, and
the original of a letter from Thompson to a Mrs. Oldacre dated 1921 (the only letter in
the series written in Thompson's hand).
Incoming correspondence from 1938 to 1946 includes one 1938 letter from the illustrator
Lynton Lamb regarding his work for
Lark Rise. The remainder of
the folder contains letters from Oxford University Press discussing the publication of
Thompson's novels.
In addition to the Thompson correspondence there is one folder of correspondence to her
daughter Winifred, from 1947 to 1965, concerning posthumous publications of Flora
Thompson's works.
All outgoing correspondence is arranged alphabetically by recipient, then
chronologically. The Ball correspondence contains a chronological listing in the front
of its folder. Permission to copy or quote from the Ball or Massingham correspondence
must be obtained from The University of Exeter in England. The remaining correspondence
is arranged chronologically as incoming or as Winifred Thompson's.
Series IV. Scrapbooks, 1921-1965, undated (6 folders
This series consists of six hand held sketch books containing clippings and notices
regarding each of Thompson's published books. Five of the scrapbooks focus on one book
each:
Bog Myrtle and Peat, Over to Candleford, Candleford Green, Lark Rise to Candleford, and Still Glides the Stream. The remaining scrapbook is not titled,
but focuses largely on Lark Rise, although it also
contains materials pre-dating Lark Rise and post-dating
Thompson's death up to 1965. Among its contents are six black and white photographs of
buildings in Juniper Hill taken in the early 1950s, and woodcut prints by Joan Hassall,
Lynton Lamb, and Julie Neild.
The
Lark Rise to Candleford scrapbook contains
clippings relating to that novel, obituaries for Flora Thompson and two letters to her
daughter Winifred. The Still Glides the Stream
scrapbook holds review clippings and four black and white photographs of Juniper Hill
buildings, all of which post date Thompson's death. It is likely that Winifred Thompson
created the scrapbooks that contain materials post-dating Flora Thompson's death and may
have created them all.
The scrapbooks are arranged in chronological order according to the earliest material
contained in each.
Flora Thompson Papers--Folder List
Series I. Works, 1912-1948
Novels
Gates of Eden, ca.
1933
1
1
Chapters 1-8
1
2
Chapters 9-18
1
3
Chapters 19-29
Lark Rise
(1939)
1
4
Preliminary draft fragments
1
5
Over to Candleford
(1941)
Candleford Green
(1943)
1
6
Preliminary draft fragments (also includes fragments of Heatherly and Still Glides the Stream)
1
7
Dashpers, ca.
1944
Heatherly, ca.
1944
1
8
Chapters 1-6
1
9
Chapters 7-11
1
10-11
Preliminary draft fragments (see also box 1 folder 6)
Still Glides the Stream
(1948)
2
1
Chapters 1-4
2
2
Chapters 5-13
2
3
Preliminary draft fragments (see also box 1 folder 6)
2
4
The Stithy, undated
2
5
Unidentified fragments, undated
Articles
2
6
The Lady's Companion, 1912-1914
2
7
The Literary Monthly
[1913]
2
8
The Catholic Fireside, 1920,
undated
2
9
Out of Doors,
1921
2
10
The Peverel Papers,
ca. 1922-1927
2
11
The Fireside Reading Circle,
ca. 1923-25
2
12
The Silent Piano,
undated
3
1
Children's Poems, 1935?
3
2
Early freelance journalism, undated
3
3
Poetry & Prose, undated
Series II. The Peverel Society, 1936, undated
3
4
Stories, 1936, undated
3
5
Verse writing course, undated
3
6
The Peverel Book of Verse,
undated
3
7
Miscellaneous, undated
Series III. Correspondence, 1921-1965, undated (bulk 1931-1947)
3
8
Ball, 1931-1947, undated
3
9
Massingham, 1944
3
10
Oldacre, 1921
3
11
Incoming, 1938-1946, undated
3
12
Winifred Thompson, 1947-1965, undated
Series IV. Scrapbooks, 1921-1965, undated
4
1
Bog Myrtle and Peat,
1921
4
2
[Lark Rise], 1921-1965,
undated
4
3
Over to Candleford,
1941
4
4
Candleford Green,
1943
4
5
Lark Rise to Candleford, 1945-1950
4
6
Still Glides the Stream, 1948-1950
Flora Thompson Papers--Index of Correspondents
Names in bold appear in the RLIN record.
- Brown, Evelyn Scott [to Winifred
Thompson]--3.12
- Cumberlege, Geoffrey (Oxford University
Press)--3.11, 3.12
- Humphreys, Paul (British Broadcasting Corp.)
[to Winifred Thompson]--4.5
- Lamb, Lynton--3.11
- Lane, Margaret [to Winifred
Thompson]--3.12
- Lister, Louise [to Winifred Thompson]--4.5
- Money, Winifred [to Lady Huntingdon/Margaret Lane]--1.8
- Morris, M.E.L. (University Microfilms, Ltd.) [to Winifred
Thompson]--3.12
- Thompson, Winifred [to unidentified]--4.2
- Williams, John L. (Oxford University Press)
[to Winifred Thompson]--3.12