Collection Summary
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin
Sabatini, Rafael, 1875-1950
Rafael Sabatini Papers
1909-1950
Manuscript Collection MS-03671
1 box (.42 linear feet)
This collection is mainly composed of
manuscripts of Sabatini’s works, with a small selection of his letters. The works
represented in the collection include three novels, four short stories, one play, a single
poem, and a fragment from a biography.
English
Biographical Sketch
Rafael Sabatini was born in Jesi, Italy, on April 29, 1875, to opera singers Vincenzo and
Anna Sabatini. Educated in Switzerland and Portugal, Sabatini was fluent in several
languages; however, his mother, herself English, saw to it that English was his most natural
tongue. After spending most of his young life traveling Europe, Sabatini settled in England
around the turn of the century and began his career as a writer, publishing his first novel,
The Lovers of Yvonne, in 1902. In 1918, he became a British citizen
and served in the War Office Intelligence Department during World War I. In 1902, he married
his first wife, Ruth Goad Dixon; their son Rafael died in a motorcycle accident in 1927.
Following his divorce in 1932, Sabatini married Christine Dixon (no relation to his previous
wife) and remained with her until his death in 1950 while on holiday in Adelboden,
Switzerland.
A prominent historical novelist and dramatist, Sabatini possessed a style of accuracy and
adventure that enthralled readers and audiences. His second novel,
Bardelys the Magnificent (1906), solidified him as a public
favorite. Among his most successful novels were Scaramouche (1921), an epic set in the French Revolution filled with
duels, disguises, and death; and Captain Blood (1922), the story
of a chivalrous West Indian buccaneer. Both of these characters returned in later novels to
much success. Sabatini adapted several of his novels for the stage, including Bardelys the Magnificent and Scaramouche. A number of his most popular books made it onto the
silver screen, including The Scourge (1922) based on his
novel Fortune’s Fool (1923), with the same conspicuous success as his
writings.
The works of Sabatini have endured for over a century, with posthumous volumes of his works
being published to continued acclaim, including
Heroic Lives (1971), a compilation of his historic biographies, and
The Fortunes of Casanova (1994), a collection of his short
stories.
Sources:
"Rafael Sabatini."
Contemporary Authors Online,
http://galenet.galegroup.com (accessed 23 November 2004).
Obituary,
London Times, February 14, 1950.
Scope and Contents
This collection is mainly composed of manuscripts of Sabatini’s works, with a small
selection of his letters. The papers are arranged into two series: I. Works, 1909-1950, and
II. Letters, 1912-1935. The works represented in the collection include three novels, four
short stories, one play, a single poem, and a fragment from a biography.
Among the works in Series I. is The Fortunes of Casanova, which includes three short
stories originally published in
Grand Magazine in 1918 and
differs from the posthumous short story collection of the same title published in 1994.
Titles present include “The Augmentation of Mercury,” “The Priest of Mars,” and “The
Oracle,” plus a fourth unpublished story entitled Courier of Love. The notebook for this
work also contains two publicity photos of Sabatini as a young man and a copy of his
obituary from the London Times dated February 14, 1950.
Sabatini’s notebook containing the manuscript of his novel
King in Prussia (1944) also has calculations at the beginning which
appear to be royalty figures for his works from 1937 to 1941. Typescripts with numerous
revisions are present for the novels The Lost King (1937) and The Sword of Islam (1939). Additional typescripts include an
unpublished play, The Sacraments of Shame, set in a 15th century English manor house, and
“The Vintage Ale,” a poem composed for a dinner aboard the Doralie, the houseboat of Mr. Harold Lee, on January 23, 1909. A
handwritten fragment from The Life of Cesare Borgia of
France (1911) is also present.
The letters in Series II. are mostly related to Sabatini’s works and publishing rights, but
there are a few that mention dinner invitations and trips abroad. They date from 1912 to
1935, with one undated item. Among the addressees of Sabatini’s letters in this collection
are Ernest A. Baker, Mabel F. Boore, Brandt, A. B. Cooper, Professor Getchell, Cyril Rhodes
Harrison, Mrs. Jacob, Ellis D. Robb, Meredith Starr, Robley Durham Stevens, Mr. Williamson,
and Mr. Vesper.
Acquisition:
Purchase and gift, 1973 (R5374)
Access:
Open for research
Processed by:
Jonathan Reynolds, 2006
Other collections in the Ransom Center with Sabatini items include B. J. Simmons & Co.,
Rupert Croft-Cooke, John Lane Company, Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes, Sir Compton Mackenzie,
Hesketh Pearson, P.E.N., Grant Richards, Sir Hugh Walpole, and William A. Bradley Literary
Agency.
Rafael Sabatini Papers--Folder List
Series I. Works, 1909-1950
1
The Birth of Mischief -- see King in Prussia
1
1
The Fortunes of Casanova (short stories, 1918), notebook, handwritten and
typescript drafts
1
2
King in Prussia (novel, 1944; published as
The Birth of Mischief, 1945), handwritten
notebook
1
3
The Life of Cesare Borgia of France (1911),
Chapter XI: The Letter to Silvio Savelli, handwritten fragment with
revisions
1
4-5
The Lost King (novel, 1937), typescript draft
with revisions
1
6
The Sacrament of Shame (unpublished play, undated), typescript
draft
1
7
The Sword of Islam (novel, 1939), typescript
draft with revisions
1
8
“The Vintage Ale” (poem, 1909), typescript draft and finished
booklet
Series II. Correspondence, 1912-1935
1
9
1912-1935, undated