Elizabeth Russell - Henry Norman Papers: Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Gayle M. Richardson, November 5, 2010.
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
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The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Overview of the Collection

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.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

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.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Elizabeth Russell - Henry Norman Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Purchased from C.R. Johnson Rare Books Collections, October 11, 2010.

Processing Information

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.

Biographical Note

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.

Scope and Content

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

Arrangement

The letters are arranged chronologically and followed by the two photographs.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Subjects

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.

Forms/Genres

Letters (correspondence) -- France.
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain.
Photographs -- France.

Additional Contributors

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.

Box 1

mssHM 74320-74342

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), (1931, Nov. 23), Mougins (France). HM 74320.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), ([1932?], Mar. 1), Mougins (France). HM 74321.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2 p), ([1932?, Mar. 27?]), Wickham (Hants, Eng.). HM 74322. 

Cataloger’s Note: this letter may have been written in 1934.
 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), (1932, May 1), Mougins (France). HM 74323.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), ([1932, Dec. 11]), Mougins (France). HM 74324.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), ([1933?, Aug. 25?]), Mougins (France). HM 74325.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2 p), (1934, Jan. 4), Mougins (France). HM 74326.                   

Cataloger’s Note: Michael Field is the joint pseudonym of Katharine Harris Bradley, 1846-1914, and Edith Emma Cooper, 1862-1913.
 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), ([1934, Jan. 18]), London (Eng.). HM 74327.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), ([1934, July 29]), Holford (Somerset, Eng.). HM 74328.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), (1934, Oct. 28), Mougins (France). HM 74329.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), (1934, Dec. 8), Mougins (France). HM 74330.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), (1936, Apr. 7), Mougins (France). HM 74331.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), (1936, Apr. 24), Mougins (France). HM 74332.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2 p), ([1936?, July?]), Mougins (France). HM 74333.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), (1936, Aug. 31), Mougins (France). HM 74334.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), (1936, Sep. 24), Mougins (France). HM 74335.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2p), (1936, Oct. 17), Mougins (France). HM 74336.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2 p), (1936, Nov. 16), Mougins (France). HM 74337.  With envelope.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 postcard to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.N.S. on a postcard (1 p), (1937, Mar. 8), Fasano (Italy). HM 74338.                  

Note: stamp has been cut away, with loss of postmark.
 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 lettercard to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.N.S. on a lettercard (2 p), (1937, Aug. 29), Salzburg (Austria). HM 74339.                  

Note: stamp has been cut away.
 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 letter to Henry Norman, 1858-1939, A.L.S. (2 p), ([ca. 1937-1938?]), Mougins (France). HM 74340.

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 black-and-white photograph of Elizabeth Russell sitting on a patio, ([ca. 1935-1936?]). HM 74341.  

 

Russell, Elizabeth Mary, Countess, 1866-1941. 1 black-and-white photograph of a close-up of Elizabeth Russell sitting on a patio , ([ca. 1935-1936?]). HM 74342.