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Amis (Kingsley and Elizabeth Jane Howard) Letters to Tom
Maschler
mssMaschler
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Kingsley Amis and Elizabeth Jane Howard letters to Tom Maschler
Identifier/Call Number: mssMaschler
Physical Description:
0.25 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1957-1977
Abstract: A collection of letters between the
British authors Kingsley Amis and Elizabeth Jane Howard with their publisher Tom
Maschler.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
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responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Kingsley Amis and Elizabeth Jane Howard letters to Tom Maschler,
The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Peter Grogan, 2020.
Kingsley Amis (1922-1995) was born in London on April 16; he was the son of William Robert
and Rosa Annie (Lucas) Amis. Following service in the British Army from 1942 to 1945 and
first-class honors in English at St. John's College, Oxford, Amis was a lecturer in English
at University College of Swansea, Wales, from 1949 to 1961. He subsequently became a Fellow
of Peterhouse, Cambridge University, from 1961 to 1963, and held visiting professorships at
Princeton and Vanderbilt Universities. Amis achieved both popularity and critical acclaim
with his first novel, Lucky Jim, whose publication in 1953 instantly marked Amis as a major
comic novelist. His many subsequent works have revealed him to be an author of extraordinary
range and versatility. His essays, poems, and short stories have been published in
magazines, journals, and collected editions. Amis' 1986 novel, The Old Devils, received
Britain's prestigious Booker Prize. Amis was married to Hilary Ann Bardwell in 1948 and
divorced in 1965; he married Elizabeth Jane Howard in 1965 and was divorced in 1983. Amis
died on October 22, 1995.
Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923-2014) was born in London, England on March 26; she trained as
an actress and, before the Second World War, played at Stratford-upon-Avon as well as
repertory theater in Devon. At various times she worked as a model, a broadcaster for the
BBC from 1939 to 1946, as an editor for various publishers, and as a writer. She has been
widely published as a novelist, journalist, reviewer, and has written plays for stage, film,
and television. In 1962, she was the Artistic Director for the Cheltenham Literary Festival,
and in 1973, the Artistic Co-Director of the Salisbury Festival of Arts; Howard was awarded
a CBE in 2000. She married Sir Peter Scott in 1942, and divorced in 1951; she married James
Douglas Henry in 1958, and divorced in 1964; and married Kingsley Amis in 1965, they were
divorced in 1983. Elizabeth Jane Howard, died aged 90, at home on January 2, 2014.
A collection of correspondence between Kingsley Amis, Elizabeth Jane Howard, and Tom
Maschler, their editor and publisher at Jonathan Cape, Ltd. (London); the letters and
postcards span the years 1957 to 1977 and were written from various locations including
Wales, England, Mexico, Amsterdam, Greece, Mallorca, and the United States. The letters
cover professional subjects such as sales figures and the progress of their novels and also
include personal news about their families and discussions about their marriage. A few of
the letters were written during the period when Cecil Day Lewis, Poet Laureate and former
lover of Elizabeth Jane Howard, lived with Amis and Howard before his death in 1972. The
correspondence also includes a small number of letters from Tom Maschler to Amis and Howard
individually and together; and one letter from Jenifer Marshall, Tom Maschler's secretary.
The collection contains two copies of the short story by Amis, "Four Characters in Search of
a Virus" and a contract for a film treatment of "The Diamond Spy."
The collection was processed by Gayle Richardson in February 2022.
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Authors, English -- 20th century
Authors and publishers -- Great Britain
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- Great Britain -- 20th century
Postcards -- Great Britain -- 20th century
Maschler, Tom,
1933-