Special Collections Department
Robert Brennan
and Maeve Brennan
Papers
Manuscript Collection Number: 243
Accessioned: 1987, purchased.
Extent: 1 linear ft. (ca. 170 items)
Content: Manuscripts, correspondence, galley proofs, documents, maps, photographs, sketches,
broadsides, magazines, ephemera.
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: 1991 by Timothy D. Murray
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Special Collections, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
(302) 831-2229
Table of Contents
Biographical Note
Brennan was active in local and national politics. He helped organize militia volunteers in Wexford and was quartermaster of the local Brigade. He participated in the 1916 Rising and was sentenced to death; the sentence was commuted, however, and Brennan was imprisoned briefly in Dartmoor Prison. Following his release from prison, Brennan continued his political activity, which resulted in a second imprisonment in Cork Jail in 1917.
By 1918 Brennan was active with organizers for Sinn Fein and was Director of Elections in the 1918 General Election. Brennan was arrested and imprisoned once more in 1920, but his political career continued to flourish. Following service as Irish Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, he became director of publicity for the Republican Forces during the Irish Civil War.
Brennan helped found The Irish Press and served as general manager from 1930 until 1934, when he was appointed Secretary to the Irish Legation in Washington. In 1938 Brennan was appointed Charge d'Affaires and in August of that year became Irish Minister in Washington. In 1947 Brennan returned to Ireland to assume the position of Director of Broadcasting at Radio Eirann. Brennan retired from that position in 1948.
Following his retirement Brennan wrote extensively and produced fiction, including novels, short stories, and mysteries, plays, and essays. Brennan's best-known works include the novel The Man Who Walked Like a Dancer (1951), and the play Good Night Mr. O'Donnell (1951). Brennan's autobiography Allegiance, was published in 1950. Much of Brennan's writing remains unpublished. Robert Brennan died in Ireland in 1964.
Maeve Brennan was born in Dublin, Ireland, on January 6, 1917. She moved to the United States when her father, Robert Brennan, was appointed Secretary to the Irish Legation in 1934. During the 1940s Brennan worked for Harper's Bazaar and subsequently joined the staff of The New Yorker. She was married to her fellow New Yorker writer St. Clair McKelway, but the marriage ended in divorce.
Brennan wrote a substantial number of stories, essays, and short casual pieces which were published in The New Yorker, often under the pen name "The Long-Winded Lady." Brennan had several collections of her writing published, including In and Out of Never-Never Land (1969), The Long-Winded Lady (1969), and Christmas Eve (1974). Maeve Brennan died in New York City in 1993.
Scope and Content Note
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I. Robert Brennan Manuscripts
II. Maeve Brennan Papers
III. Miscellaneous Papers
Related sources:
Mss 103 John Malcolm Brinnin PapersContents List
Series I. Robert Brennan Manuscripts
1 Where Are the Crown Jewels? A Dublin Castle Mystery / retold by Robert
Brennan [novel]
Ts. [carbon], 245 pp., with 6 additional preliminary pages
F1 pp. 1a - 114
F2 pp. 115 - 245
Where Are the Crown Jewels? A Dublin Castle Mystery / retold by Robert
Brennan [novel]
Ts. [carbon], 239 pp., lacking postscript
F3 pp. 1 - 114
F4 pp. 115 - 239
The Man Who Walked Like a Dancer / by Robert Brennan [novel]
Accompanied by six additional pages of autograph and typescript corrections and
a letter from Robert Brennan to Maeve Brennan (1948 Jun 21, ALS, 5 pp.)
Ts. [carbon], 282 pp.
F5 Chpt. 1 - 11, pp. 1 - 161
F6 Chpt. 12 - 20, pp. 162 - 282
2
Autobiography
Robert Brennan's autobiography, Allegiance (Dublin: Browne and Nolan,
Limited) was published in 1950. The material described below consists of early
drafts of the book which bear the title "Autobiography" and which contain a
substantial amount of material not included in the published text.
Autobiography. Ts., Ts. [carbon], 296 pp.
Accompanied by two letters from literary agent Mavis McIntosh to Maeve
Brennan regarding her father's autobiography.
F7 pp. 1 - 147
F8 pp. 148 - 296
F9 Chapter XXVI. Ts. [carbon], 166 pp., numbered 574-760
Series I. Robert Brennan Manuscripts (cont'd)
3
The Adventures of Oscar van Duyden [collection of stories]
Ts. [carbon]
Drafts for 25 stories gathered together under this title, all featuring the detective
protagonist, Oscar van Duyden. Brennan has assigned individual numbers and
titles to each story. The stories are arranged in numerical order as listed below:
F10 No. 1. La Belle Ferroniere
No. 2. The Falcon's Egg
No. 3. Telephone Call
No. 4. The Dorchester Claimant
No. 5. The Disappearance of Marie Morin
F11 No. 6. The Wreck of the Silver Spray
No. 7. The Mystery of the Cr‚dit Marsellais
No. 8. The Changeling
No. 9. The Head of Alexander
No. 10. The Crimson Narcissus
F12 No. 11. The Queen's Coronet
No. 12. The Blind Man of the Carrousel
No. 13. The Crooked Star
No. 14. The Highwayman
No. 15. The Little Angels
F13 No. 16. A Thousand Pounds Reward
No. 17. The Deauville Mystery
No. 18. The Second Mysterious Marauder
No. 19. The Drawn Sword
No. 20. The Pearl Thief
F14 No. 21. Who Killed Jules Brentano?
No. 22. Gaspard the Vulture
No. 23. The Brown Boots
No. 24. The Marathon Runner
No. 25. The Book of Mananaan Mac Lir
Series I. Robert Brennan Manuscripts (cont'd)
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F15 [Stories] "by Patrick Allen" [ca. 1953]
Ts. [carbon], 58 pp.
Drafts of 12 stories with accompanying letter from Robert Brennan to Maeve
Brennan (1953 Jan 5, TLS, 1 p). Individual titles are listed below:
The Telephone
The Widow Byrne's Prize Cow
The Donkey
The House on the Green Rath
The Cotton Bonnet
The Seaman's Card
The Bishop
Woman of Three Cows
American Legacy
Boy Bandit
Old Man's Darling
F16 [Stories], n.d.
Ts. [carbon], 61 pp.
Drafts of 7 stories. Individual titles listed below:
Death of a Spy
The Lost Tribes of Bangkok
The Murder of Asterfold
A Visit to Margaret's House
Hagio
The House of the Rath
And So They Were Married
F17 The Start of the Irish Press [essay], n.d.
Ts. [carbon], 9 pp.
Possibly a section of Brennan's autobiography; focuses upon the founding of The
Irish Press, a newspaper, in 1931.
F18 Miscellaneous unidentified manuscripts, presumably by Robert Brennan.
Autograph and typescript, 32 leaves. 4 items.
Series II. Maeve Brennan Papers
Consists of a small group of correspondence and a collection of manuscripts and
galley proofs of work by Maeve Brennan.
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Series II. 1. Correspondence.
F19 Includes several of Maeve Brennan's letters to her father written when she was a
child, letters from other family members, and letters from three of her New Yorker
colleagues, R. Hawley Truax, Howard Moss, and William Maxwell. 12 items.
Series II. 2. Herbert's Retreat [novel]
Two typescript drafts and partial galleys for this unpublished novel. They are
both unnumbered and have been retained in the order in which they were
received.
Ts., ca. 560 leaves
Contains numerous corrections, annotations, and inserted text.
F20 44 leaves
F21 86 leaves
F22 93 leaves
F23 63 leaves
F24 96 leaves
F25 77 leaves
5
Ts., ca. 430 leaves
Contains numerous corrections, annotations, and inserted text. This draft was
originally housed in pink file folders each of which was labeled "Herbert's Retreat
Unfinished"
F26 60 leaves
F27 101 leaves
F28 39 leaves
F29 108 leaves
F30 120 leaves
F31 "The Servant's Dance"
Galleys, 52 loose leaves, numbered 1-52, 1954
A set of galleys for a portion of this novel.
Series II. Maeve Brennan Papers (cont'd)
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Series II.3. The New Yorker galleys.
Loose galley proofs of stories and other pieces Maeve Brennan wrote for The New
Yorker, ca. 1953-1966. Arranged chronologically by date printed on individual
galleys. 23 items.
F32 The Devil in Us. 1953 April 9. 6 leaves
F33 The Lie. 1953 May 4. 3 leaves
F34 The Old Man of the Sea. 1953 June 15. 5 leaves
F35 The Barrel of Rumors. 1953 July 23. 5 leaves
F36 The Beginning of a Long Story. 1960 June 28. 13 leaves
Accompanied by a memo (TL, 1960: October 31) to William Maxwell containing
queries from William Shawn concerning this piece.
F37 An Attack of Hunger. 1960 October 19. 17 leaves
F38 An Attack of Hunger. 1960 October 19. 17 leaves
This draft contains autograph corrections.
F39 An Attack of Hunger. 1960 October 19. 16 leaves
This draft contains extensive autograph corrections, as well as a pasted-in change.
F40 A Young Girl Can Spoil Her Chances. 1961 March 15. 24 leaves
F41 The Drowned Man. 1961 October 24. 12 leaves
F42 A Free Choice. 1961 December 28. 19 leaves
F43 A Free Choice. 1962 January 26. 20 leaves
F44 Lessons and Lessons and Then More Lessons. 3 leaves
F45 The Bohemians. 1962 February 7. 8 leaves
F46 The Children Are Very Quiet When They Are Away. 1962 March 13. 2 leaves
F47 Family Walls. 1962 December 3. 19 leaves
Series II. Maeve Brennan Papers (cont'd)
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F48 Family Walls. 1962 December 3. 19 leaves
Contains minor autograph corrections.
F49 The Drowned Man. 1963 July 27. 8 leaves
Printed heading "Proof of Editorial or Makeup." Contains autograph corrections
and proofs of illustrations.
F50 [Untitled]. 1963 October 17. 2 leaves
F51 The Talk of the Town. 1964 April 25. 5 leaves.
Proof of the "Talk of the Town" column with printed heading "Proof of Editorial
or Makeup."
F52 The Twelfth Wedding Anniversary. 1965 July 28. 13 leaves
F53 A Snowy Night on West Forty-Ninth Street. 1966 March 7. 15 leaves
F54 Stories of Africa. 1966 April 12. 21 leaves
F55 The Talk of the Town. 1967 July 22. 6 leaves
Proof of the "Talk of the Town" column with autograph note at the top "Brennan
to Miss Rogers."
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Series III. Miscellaneous Papers
Series III.1. Manuscripts by others.
F56 Isherwood, Christopher
Prater Violet [autobiographical sketch], n.d.
Ts. [carbon], 98 pp.
Originally bound into a grey clip binder on which "Harper's Bazaar" is printed.
Title is typed onto cover, as is the number "3" in the top right corner, possibly
indicating that this is a third copy of the manuscript. Title page bears Isherwood's
typed address "1946 Ivar Avenue / Hollywood 28, Calif."
F57 Lucey, Michael
The Boy and the Sensible Clown [story], n.d.
Galley proof, 3 pp.
Series III. Miscellaneous Papers (cont'd)
Series III.1. Manuscripts by others (cont'd)
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F58 Martz, Charles
Typescript drafts of two stories which Martz apparently submitted to Brennan in
her editorial capacity at The New Yorker. Accompanied by mailing envelope
postmarked 1964 April 28; return address "Dorsoduro 73 / Venice, Italy"
Kentucky Justice [story], ca. 1964. Ts., 12 pp.
Milly [story], ca. 1964. Ts., 9 pp.
F59 Martz, Charles
Typescript drafts of stories and a poem which Martz apparently submitted to
Brennan in her editorial capacity at The New Yorker. Accompanied by mailing
envelope postmarked 1964 April 10; return address "Dorsoduro 73 / Venezia,
Italia"
Energies [story], ca. 1964. Ts., 9 pp.
Clamdigger's Haul [story], ca. 1964. Ts., 19 pp.
The Villa [story], ca. 1964. Ts., 12 pp.
Lyrics After Eichendorff [poem], ca. 1964. Ts., 2 pp.
F60 Series III. 2. Personal Miscellany.
Brennan family documents, including Maeve Brennan's elementary school grade
reports and birth registration, maps, and photographs. 15 items.
F61 Series III. 3. Printed ephemera.
Consists of a variety of printed ephemera and artwork. Includes a pamphlet (in
Irish) regarding Eamon De Valera; two watercolor sketches, apparently for Cuala
Press broadsides; tearsheets of illustrations of members of the Yeats family; an
offprint from Harper's Bazaar; and two programs for the Dublin Gate Theatre.
9 items.
Series III. Miscellaneous Papers (cont'd)
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Series III. 4. Cuala Press broadsides.
Two groups of A Broadside, published by the Cuala Press. 11 items.
F62 A Broadside (New Series), 1935
Edited by W.B. Yeats and F.R. Higgins; Musical editor: Arthur Duff. Published
monthly at the Cuala Press, Lower Baggot Street, Dublin
No. 1 January
No. 2 February
No. 3 March
No. 8 August
No. 9 September
No. 11 November
F63 A Broadside (New Series), 1937
Editors: Dorothy Wellesley and W.B. Yeats. Published monthly at the Cuala
Press, One Hundred and Thirty Three Lower Baggot Street, Dublin
No. 4 April
No. 6 June
No. 10 October
No. 11 November
No. 12 December
Series III. Miscellaneous Papers (cont'd)
Series III. 5. Pamphlets and magazines.
Includes a small group of books, pamphlets, Cuala Press broadsides, and
periodicals. Books and pamphlets have been transferred to the Special
Collections printed collection. Following is a list of items in this series. Items
not cataloged for Special Collections printed collection are housed in Box 7.
Apocalypse. Monkstown, Dublin : Runa press, 1944. Anthology. Quarto No. 5. March, 1944
Cataloged for the Special Collections printed collection: Spec PR1175 .A66x 1944
The Lady of the House [magazine]. Dublin. 2 issues.
Extra Christmas (1909) Number.
Extra Christmas (1919) Number.
MacDonagh, Donagh. The Ballad of Jane Shore. Dublin, Ireland : Dolmen Press, 1954. "75
special copies printed for the friends of Donagh & Nuala MacDonagh"--Colophon.
Inscribed by the author. Cataloged for the Special Collections printed collection: Spec
PR6025 .A218 B35 1954
Magasinet (Copenhagen) No. 12 (23 March 1957). Danish tabloid magazine. This issue
includes "En Endelse for Fugle," a translation of an essay by St. Clair McKelway, who
was Maeve Brennan's husband.
Marriott, Ernest. Jack B. Yeats: His Pictorial and Dramatic Art. London: Elkin Mathews,
[1911]. Cataloged for the Special Collections printed collection: Spec PR6047 .E3
Z767 1911
Moss, Howard. The Magic lantern of Marcel Proust. London : Faber & Faber, 1963. Author's
autograph presentation copy inscribed for Maeve, dated September 27, 1963. Cataloged
for the Special Collections printed collection: Spec PQ2631 .R63 A84 1963
The New Yorker [magazine] 2 November l963. Cover marked "Rough Copy."
Yeats, W. B. The pity of love. Dundrum, Dublin : Cuala Press, <1908?> [broadside].
Cataloged for the Special Collections printed collection: Spec folio PR5904 .P43 1908
Yeats, W. B. Plays for an Irish theatre; with designs by Gordon Craig. London ;
Statford-upon-Avon : A. H. Bullen, 1911. Cataloged for the Special Collections printed
collection: Spec PR5904.P5 1911
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