Rebecca West collection

The Rebecca West Collection spans the dates 1913-1984 and is organized in four series. Series I, Correspondence, consists of letters to and from Rebecca West and is alphabetically arranged by name of correspondent. Series II, Writings, is organized in three subseries: Books, Articles, and Writings of Others. Series III, Rebecca West Papers of Gordon S. Haight, is organized in three subseries: Correspondence, Writings, and Other Papers. Materials acquired since September 1996 are located in Series IV, Additions since September 1996, and are listed in accession order.

Series I, Correspondence , contains mainly letters by West herself, in some cases donated by their recipients at West's request. Correspondents include Romney Brent, Henry James Forman, A. S. Frere, Lady Elizabeth Iddesleigh, Norman Mackenzie, C. K. Ogden, and Reginald Turner. West's letters to Sara Tugander Melville describe her daily life during the period following the birth of Anthony West and her travels to Italy and America during the 1920s. West's correspondence with Gregg T. Sinclair, begun when Sinclair sent her a fan letter about The Judge, documents her interest in visiting the Sinclairs in Japan and later in America.

The two extensive correspondences in the collection are those of Emanie Sachs Arling and Doris Stevens, both of whom West met during her first American lecture tour in 1923-24. West's letters to both women contain much information about her personal life, such as her health, her travels, life at Ibstone House with Henry Andrews, and her relations with family members. West's view of the troubled relationship between her and her son Anthony is particularly well documented, including her reaction to the publication of Heritage and to Anthony's divorce from his first wife and relocation to America. In addition, the correspondence with Stevens reflects West's involvement in the controversies surrounding Joseph McCarthy and the American anti-Communist movement.

Series II, Writings , is divided into three subseries: Books, Articles, and Writings of Others. Books includes corrected galleys for The Birds Fall Down and The Thinking Reed, while Articles contains documentation of West's famous series "Behind the Witch-Hunts," including typescripts, clippings, and letters to the editor of the London Times concerning the series. Folder 172 contains clippings of articles by and about West's American lecture tour that appeared in the Japan Advertiser.

Series III, Rebecca West Papers of Gordon Haight , contains correspondence from West and Henry Andrews to Haight, who was a member of the Department of English at Yale during West's visits to the university. There are also a typescript photocopy of Haight's response to Anthony West's portrait of West in Aspects of a Life, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other memorabilia.

Series IV, Additions Since September 1996 , contains recent acquisitions arranged in accession order.

Oversize contains two items from Series II. Box 11, Restricted Fragile Papers , contains fragile originals from Series I-III.