IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0103 STRACHEY
Held at: University College London
Title: Strachey Papers
Date(s): 1929-1975
Level of description: Collection (fonds)
Extent: 12 boxes
Name of creator(s): Strachey | Julia Frances | 1901-1979 | writer
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Born, 1901; daughter of Oliver Strachey and his first wife Ruby Mayer, and niece of the critic and biographer Lytton Strachey; a writer, but published few books during her lifetime; wrote sketches and stories for New Writing, the New Statesman and the New Yorker; married firstly Stephen Tomlin (d 1937) and secondly the artist (Sir) Lawrence Gowing (Slade Professor of Fine Art at University College London, 1975-1985; d 1991), 1952; divorced, 1967; died, 1979. Publications: Cheerful weather for the wedding (1932); The man on the pier (1951).
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Papers and correspondence, 1929-1975 and undated, of Julia Frances Strachey, including diaries, notebooks, manuscripts and typescripts, 1929-1975 and undated; letters to Julia, 1924-1956 and undated, the writers including Dora Carrington; letters to Stephen Tomlin and Julia, 1923-1930 and undated, the writers including Lytton Strachey; correspondence between Stephen Tomlin and Julia, 1930-1931; correspondence between Julia and Lawrence Gowing, 1939-1971 and undated, and other letters to Julia, 1952-1967 and undated; personalia, including a copy of a divorce certificate, 1967, a will, 1971, a business diary, 1971, an appointment diary, 1974, passports, and an undated address book; postcards and photographs, largely undated, mainly miscellaneous works of art but also including Lytton and Oliver Strachey, Dora Carrington, and Stephen Tomlin; a scrapbook, 1932-1971, mainly comprising press cuttings including reviews of Strachey's novels, with a few miscellaneous letters inserted.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
The papers are divided into sections comprising correspondence (Ref: A-E) and personalia and photographs (Ref: F-H).
Conditions governing access:
Open. Personal correspondence between Gowing and Julia Strachey is closed for 50 years from the date of the last letter, subject to review.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Permission for publication should be sought from the literary executor. Photocopies/photographs/microfilm are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds, and that photographs cannot be photocopied in any circumstances. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.
Physical characteristics:
Some papers are in a fragile condition.
Finding aids:
Online catalogue available.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Accruals:
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
The papers were presented to University College London by Professor Sir Lawrence Gowing in three accessions, one in 1983 and two in 1985.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
Existence and location of copies:
Related material:
Publication note:
The papers were extensively used for Julia: A Portrait of Julia Strachey, by herself and Frances Partridge (Victor Gollancz Ltd, London, 1983).
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
Archivist's note: Sources: Julia: A Portrait of Julia Strachey, by herself and Frances Partridge (Victor Gollancz Ltd, London, 1983); Who's Who entry for Sir Lawrence Gowing; British Library OPAC. Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.
Date(s) of descriptions: May 2001; updated July 2018