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Elizabeth Russell - Henry Norman Papers: Finding Aid
mssHM 74320-74342
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Title: Elizabeth Russell - Henry Norman Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1931-1938
Collection Number: mssHM 74320-74342
Creator:
Von Arnim, Elizabeth, 1866-1941.
Extent: 23 pieces. 1 box.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists of 21 letters written by English novelist Elizabeth Russell (1866-1941),
between 1931 and 1938 to her friend and neighbor Henry Norman (1858-1939), chiefly discussing her life, current authors, and
current political events,
including the rise of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Elizabeth Russell - Henry Norman Papers, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Purchased from C.R. Johnson Rare Books Collections, October 11, 2010.
The collection of 21 letters, two photographs and one volume was acquired as the "Elizabeth Von Arnim Collection,"
but it was decided to title the collection as the "Elizabeth Russell-Henry Norman Papers" to conform more closely
with the Elizabeth Mary Russell, Countess Russell, Papers, already cataloged.
Mary Annette Beauchamp (1866-1941), English novelist, became known to the world as “Elizabeth” after the publication of her
first novel,
Elizabeth and Her German Garden, in 1898. She was a very popular writer during her lifetime and wrote some twenty works, mainly semi- autobiographical novels,
between 1897 and 1940; two of her novels have been made into films,
Mr. Skeffington and
The Enchanted April. Her friends included many writers and also select groups which visited, first, her chalet in Switzerland and then her estate
on the French Riviera; throughout her life she travelled extensively in Europe and the United States.
She married Count Henning von Arnim-Schlagenthin in 1891 and lived for 20 years on his estate, Nassenheide, near the German/Polish
border; together they had five children (four girls and one boy). After Count von Arnim-Schlagenthin’s death in 1910, Elizabeth
married John Francis Stanley Russell, 2nd Earl, in 1916, but the marriage was not a success and they permanently separated
in 1919; Elizabeth remained Countess Russell until her death in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1941.
Henry Norman (1858-1939) was an English journalist and Liberal politician. He travelled widely, wrote for and edited various
publications, and was a Member of Parliament from 1900- 1923; he was created Baronet of Honeyhanger in 1915. He owned the
“Chateau de la Garoupe,” on the French Riviera, near “Mas Des Roses,” the home of Elizabeth Russell.
The collection consists of letters written by Elizabeth Russell, Countess Russell,
to her friend and neighbor, Henry Norman. The letters span the years 1931 to 1938,
and discuss her life, family and friends, the current authors of the day, including
Michael Field, James M. Cain, Rebecca West, and Virginia Woolf, as well as current
political events and the rise of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. There are also two photographs of Russell.
Related Materials in the Huntington Library
- Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 3 letters to Walford Graham Robertson, (1910), London, in the W. Graham Robertson papers (Call number: mssWR 505-507)
- Elizabeth Mary Russell, Countess Russell, Papers, 1890-1962 (Call number) mssER 1-1787)
- Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. Elizabeth and Her German Garden. New York; London: The Macmillan Co., 1900 (Call number: 631698) Inscribed to Henry Norman, 1932. Transferred from the Manuscripts Department to Rare Books on November 2, 2010, originally part of the Elizabeth Russell-Henry Norman Papers.
The letters are arranged chronologically and followed by the two photographs.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Cain, James M. (James
Mallahan), 1892-1977. Postman always rings twice.
Field, Michael. Works
and days.
Hitler, Adolf,
1889-1945.
Von Arnim, Elizabeth,
1866-1941.
West, Rebecca,
1892-1983. Thinking reed.
Woolf, Virginia,
1882-1941. Waves.
Authors, English -- 20th century --
Correspondence.
Women authors, English -- 20th century
-- Archives.
Letters (correspondence) -- France.
Letters (correspondence) -- Great
Britain.
Photographs -- France.
Norman, Henry, 1858-1939.
- Cain, James M. (James Mallahan), 1892-1977. The Postman Always Rings Twice. In Elizabeth Mary, Countess Russell, 1866-1941, letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, ([1934, July 29]). HM 74328.
- Field, Michael. Works and Days. In Elizabeth Mary, Countess Russell, 1866-1941, letters to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, (1934). HM 74326-74327.
- Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945. In Elizabeth Mary, Countess Russell, 1866-1941, letters to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, (1936). HM 74331-74332.
- Norman, Henry, 1858-1939. “Will No Man Understand?” (play). In Elizabeth Mary, Countess Russell, 1866-1941, letters to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, (1934-1936). HM 74329, 74331.
- Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. In Photographs, ([ca. 1935-1936?]). HM 74341-74342.
- Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. The Jasmine Farm. In Elizabeth Mary, Countess Russell, 1866-1941, letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, (1934, Dec. 8). HM 74330.
- West, Rebecca, 1892-1983. The Thinking Reed. In Elizabeth Mary, Countess Russell, 1866- 1941, letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, (1936, Apr. 24). HM 74332.
- Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941. The Waves. In Elizabeth Mary, Countess Russell, 1866-1941, letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, (1931, Nov. 23). HM 74320.