Special Collections Department
George Moore Collection
Manuscript Collection Number: 266
Accessioned: Purchases, 1984-1993
Extent: 91 items. (.75 linear ft.)
Content: Letters, page and galley proofs, poem, fiction, and prose
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: Originally processed by Stuart Dick and Tim Murray,
revised April 1993 by Anita Wellner.
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Special Collections, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
(302) 831-2229
Table of Contents
Biographical Note
From 1873-1880 Moore lived in Paris, studied at the l'Ecole des Beaux Arts and the Jullian's Academy, and met many of the period's avant-garde painters and writers. Notable among the many he encountered were Mallarmé, Manet, Monet, Degas, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, and Zola.
Although Moore exhibited some talent as a painter, Moore did not believe his ability was sufficient for creating great art. In the 1870s Moore began to write and had probably written a comedy titled Worldliness by 1874. No copies of this initial work have survived. His first published work was a volume of poems, Flowers of Passion (1878), which was followed by Martin Luther (1879), a tragedy written in collaboration with dramatist Bernard Lopez.
Financial difficulties forced his return to London in 1880, where he worked at earning a living by writing. In 1883 George Moore's first novel, A Modern Lover, appeared. During the 1880s and 1890s his works included A Mummer's Wife (1885), A Drama in Muslin (1886), Confessions of a Young Man (1888), and Esther Waters (1894).
In 1901 Moore left London and settled in Dublin, Ireland, where he wrote and produced plays, gave speeches defending the theatre movement, and began writing material which reflected his Irish heritage. During this period he wrote the collection of stories, The Untilled Field (1903); a novel, The Lake (1905); and his three volume autobiography, Hail and Farewell (1911-1914).
In 1911 Moore returned from Ireland and lived at 121 Ebury Street in London until his death in 1933. From 1911 to 1932 Moore wrote numerous books, including The Brook Kerith (1916), A Story-Teller's Holiday (1918), Avowals (1919), Héloise and Abélard (1921), Daphnis and Chloe (1924), Ulick and Soracha (1926), and Aphrodite in Aulis (1930).
Sources:
Hogan, Robert (ed.) Dictionary of Irish Literature. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1979. pp. 458-466.Legg, L. G. Wickham (ed.) The Dictionary of National Biography, 1931-1940. London: Oxford University Press, 1975. pp. 625-627.
Scope and Content Note
The letters included in this collection were written by Moore to various individuals. To publisher Arthur Brentano, Moore wrote concerning the U.S. publication of his A Story-Teller's Holiday. Letters to publishers T. Werner Laurie and Horace Liveright are also included, as are letters to an unidentified Mr. Freeman concerning the U.S. publication of Aphrodite in Aulis. There are letters to the comedy actress, Athene Seyler, concerning a production of Moore's The Coming of Gabrielle, as well as letters to Lady Gregory, American journalist Henry Phillips, and Oliver St. John Gogarty. To the writer Marquise Clara Lanza, Moore wrote about his appreciation of her novel, The Righteous Apostate, and suggested that they collaborate in writing a play based on the novel.
There are also letters to a number of other individuals, discussing the publication and editing of his books or articles, his travels, and his health; or responding to comments on his writing.
The seven manuscripts include page proofs for his collection of short stories, The Untilled Field (1903), and for his novel, Lewis Seymour and Some Women (1917). The collection also includes a galley proof of his poem, "La Réponse de Georges Moore en Forme de Sonnet à son Ami Edouard Dujardin" (1920).
The typescript and proofs for Moore's "An Imaginary Conversation," published in the Fortnightly Review (1918-1919), are also included in this collection. The imaginary conversation between Moore and Edmund Gosse was later included in Moore's Avowals, for which page proofs are found in this collection.
Arrangement Note
Series Outline
I. Letters, 1888-1929
Louisa Bell
Arthur Brentano
Henry Davray
Mr. Freeman
Mrs. Goelet
Oliver St. John Gogarty
Miss Gough
Lady Gregory
Francis Henry Gribble
Marquise Clara Lanza
T. Werner Laurie
Leonie Leslie
Horace Liveright
Mr. Macleod
Henry A. Phillips
Mr. Richards
Mr. Rolleston
Athene Seyler
Mr. Smith
Mr. Tuller
Mr. Whitelock
Unidentified
II. Manuscripts, 1902-1920
1. Avowals, 1919
2. "An Imaginary Conversation," 1918
3. "La Réponse de Georges Moore...Edouard Dujardin," 1920
4. Lewis Seymour and Some Women, 1916
5. The Untilled Field, 1902
Contents List
1 Series I. Letters, 1888-1929
The series consists of 81 letters from Moore to a
variety of different individuals, as well as two
letters from Moore's secretary Mona Kingdon to
Henry Albert Phillips.
F1 Louisa Bell
1916 May 26 TLS 1 p
F2 Arthur Brentano
1916 Feb 15 TLS 1 p
1916 Aug 4 ALS 4 p
1917 Oct 8 ALS 6 p
1917 Oct 15 TLS 1 p
1917 Oct 22 ALS 1 p
1917 Nov 2 TLS 2 p
1917 Nov 8 TLS 2 p
F3 1918 Jan 7 TLS 2 p
1918 Feb 3 TLS 1 p
[1919] May 17 ALS 2 p
[1919] Jun 19 ALS 2 p
[1919] Sep 8 ALS 5 p
F4 Davray
[n.d.] ALS 2 p
F5 Mr. Freeman
1928 Nov 1 TLS 1 p
1928 Nov 12 TLS 1 p
1928 Nov 23 TLS 2 p
1928 Dec 11 TLS 1 p
F6 Mrs. Goelet
[1914] Jul 20 ALS 2 p
F7 Oliver St. John Gogarty
[1915] Mar 31 ALS 2 p
F8 Miss Gough
[n.d.] ALS 2 p
F9 Lady Gregory
[n.d.] ALS 2 p
F10 Henry Gribble
[n.d.] ALS 3 p
[n.d.] ALS 4 p
F11 Clara Lanza
1888 Sep 23 ALS 10 p
[1888] Nov 12 ALS 12 p
[1888] Dec 19 ALS 14 p
[1889 Jan 16] ALS 8 p
1 Series I. Letters (cont'd)
F12 Clara Lanza
[1889] Mar 9 ALS 12 p
[1889] Mar 30 ALS 9 p
[1889] Apr 5 ALS 8 p
[1889 Jun 7] ALS 8 p
F13 [1889 Aug 3] ALS 6 p
[1889 Sep 13] ALS 10 p
[1889 Nov 30] ALS 4 p
[1889 Dec 14] ALS 7 p
1889 Dec 24 ALS 10 p
[n.y.] May 3 ALS 4 p
F14 Werner Laurie
[n.d.] ALS 2 p
[n.d.] ALS 3 p
F15 Leonie Leslie
[n.y.] Nov 30 ALS 1 p
F16 Horace Liveright
Includes one letter to Liveright's secretary, Miss
Armstrong.
[1922] Jan 14 ALS 1 p (Miss Armstrong)
1922 Jan 14 TLS 2 p
[1922] Jan 16 ALS 2 p
1922 Jan 20 TLS 2 p
F17 1925 Aug 4 TLS 1 p
1926 Apr 12 TLS 1 p
[n.y.] Jul 4 ALS 2 p
F18 Mr. Macleod
Includes one letter addressed to "Editor of The Daily
Mail."
1921 Mar 2 TLS 1 p
1921 Mar 4 TLS 2 p
1921 Mar 8 TLS 1 p (to editor)
1921 Jun 20 TLS 1 p (signed for Moore
by his secretary)
1921 Jun 28 ALS 1 p (signed by Moore,
handwritten by
secretary)
1921 Aug 24 TLS 2 p
1921 Nov 3 ALS 1 p (signed by Moore,
handwritten by
secretary)
1922 Jan 7 TLS 1 p
[n.y.] Jul 26 ALS 1 p
1 Series I. Letters (cont'd)
F19 Henry Albert Phillips
Includes two letters to Phillips from Mona Kingdon,
Moore's secretary, writing in his stead.
1925 Dec 16 TLS 1 p (from Kingdon)
1928 Jan 20 ALS 1 p (from Kingdon)
[n.y.] Mar 21 ALS 1 p
F20 Mr. Richards
[n.y.] Aug 27 ALS 3 p
F21 Mr. Rolleston
1917 Mar 19 TLS 1 p
1917 Apr 26 TLS 2 p
F22 Athene Seyler
These letters to comedy actress Athene Seyler were
included in copies of Moore's The Brook Kerith or
In Single Strictness.
1923 Jun 21 ALS 1 p
[n.y.] Sunday ALS 2 p
[n.y.] Oct 21 ALS 2 p
F23 Mr. Smith
Other letters from Moore to Smith are located with the
page proof for Avowals (F29) and the galley proof for
Moore's french sonnet (F32).
[n.y.] Mar 14 ALS 2 p
F24 Tuller
[n.d.] ALS 2 p
F25 Mr. Whitelock
1902 Jan 11 TLS 1 p
F26 Unidentified persons
1890 Apr 9 ALS 2 p
1923 Jan 5 ALS 1 p
1926 May 19 ALS 2 p
1927 May 19 TLS 1 p
[1927] Jun 1 ALS 1 p
1927 Aug 30 TLS 1 p
[1927] Sep 3 ALS 1 p
1927 Sep 6 TLS 1 p
1929 May 9 TLS 1 p
[n.y.] Jul 20 ALS 6 p
[n.d.] ALS 2 p
2 Series II. Manuscripts Written by George Moore,
1902-1920
This collection of page proofs, galley proofs, and
a typescript, includes stories, prose, poetry, and
a novel written by George Moore. Three of the
manuscripts were originally part of the library
belonging to Philadelphia collector William West
and are so identified.
Series II.1. Avowals, 1919
Published in 1919, this prose incorporates Moore's
"An Imaginary Conversation. Gosse and Moore."
Included are the page proofs printed by The
Riverside Press and three letters from Moore to
Mr. Smith concerning Avowals. With the letters is
an autograph note by William West explaining the
provenance of these items.
F27 Page Proofs, 1919
Pages 1-152, bearing Moore's autograph corrections and
the stamp of The Riverside Press.
F28 Page Proofs, 1919
Pages 153-310.
F29 Letters to Mr. Smith, [n.y.]
In addition to the three Moore letters is a note by
William West explaining how he acquired the these
letters and proofs.
[n.y.] May 29 ALS 1 p
[n.y.] Jun 6 ALS 2 p
[n.y.] Jun 16 ALS 1 p
Series II.2. "An Imaginary Conversation. Gosse
and Moore," 1918 Aug-Nov
Originally published in Fortnightly Review in 1918
and 1919, these two articles were later expanded
and published as Avowals. Included are the page
proofs for one conversation and the galley proofs
for a second conversation.
F30 Page Proofs, 1918 Aug 7
Numbered 16-29, these page proofs bear the autograph
corrections of Moore, as well as the stamp, "Richard
Clay and Sons, Limited, 7 Aug 1918."
F31 Galley Proofs, 1918 Nov 12
Numbered 1-14, these galleys bear autograph corrections
by Moore, the stamp, "Richard Clay and Sons, Limited,
12 Nov 1918." Inserted at page 4 of the galleys is one
typescript page by Moore. Published in the Fortnightly
Review, November 1918.
3 Series II. Manuscripts (cont'd)
Series II.3 "La Réponse de Georges Moore en
Forme de Sonnet à Son Ami Edouard Dujardin
(l'auteur de "La source du Fleuve Chretien) qui
l'avait invité à Blois pour manger L'Alose,
[1920]
Includes galley proof of this sonnet written in
French and published in the Fortnightly Review, as
well as a letter to Mr. Smith.
F32 Galley Proof, [1920]
This one page of galley proof bears autograph
corrections by Moore and is accompanied by a letter to
Mr. Smith ([1920] Jun 30) concerning this sonnet.
Series II.4. Lewis Seymour and Some Women, 1916
These are the page proofs for the original William
Heinemann edition of this novel, published in
London in 1916. George Moore revised this set of
proofs in preparation for the American edition
published in New York by Brentano's in 1917. This
manuscript was part of William West's collection.
F33 Page Proofs, 1916
Corrected page proofs with extensive autograph
revisions, as well as added slips of text by Moore.
Bears the stamp of the printer, Billing & Sons, Ltd.,
London. Each signature is dated, with the initial
signature dated October 21, 1916. Accompanying the 310
pages of proofs is an note by William West.
Series II.5. The Untilled Field, [1902]
This collection of short stories was published in
London by T. Fisher Unwin in 1902. These pages of
corrected proofs were a part of the William West
collection.
F34 Page Proofs, [1902]
These page proofs bear the autograph corrections of
George Moore, as well as one autograph page of text
inserted at page 417. Bears the bookplate of William
West on the half-title page and includes a note by West
concerning these proofs.
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