Special Collections Department
Letters to
Ethel Rolt Wheeler
Manuscript Collection Number: 318
Accessioned: Purchase, April 1995.
Extent: 46 itmes (.1 linear ft.)
Content: Letters and one report.
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: April 1995 by Anita A. Wellner
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Special Collections, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
(302) 831-2229
Table of Contents
Biographical Note
Irish poet and author Ethel Rolt Wheeler was a member of the Irish Literary Society of London and chair of the Irish Circle of the Lyceum Club (London).
Wheeler's published works include volumes of poetry such as Verses (1903), The Year's Horoscope: Sonnets (1905), Ireland's Veils and Other Poems (1913), and Ethel Rolt-Wheeler: poems (1937); a book of tales titled Behind the Veil (1906); and a volume of biographical essays titled Famous Blue-stockings (1910).
She also contributed articles to several journals, including East and West, The Theosophical Review, and Great Thoughts.
Source:
O'Donoghue, D.J. The Poets of Ireland. Detroit: Gale Research, 1968.Note: Some biographical information is derived from correspondence in the collection.
Scope and Content Note
Most of the letters in the collection are written to Wheeler in her capacity as chair of the Irish Circle of the Lyceum Club. Notable literary persons, such as Paul Vincent Carroll, Lord Dunsany, St. John G. Ervine, and Kate O'Brien wrote regretfully to decline invitations to Irish Circle functions. Conversely, others such as Lady Cynthia Asquith, Francis Aitken, Ishbel Aberdeen-Temair, May Sinclair, and L.A.G. Strong wrote to accept invitations or to thank Wheeler for dinners and events of the Irish Circle.
The collection also includes a number of letters related to Wheeler's stories, plays, and poetry. Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Malcolm Morley, Norman McKinnel, and Herbert Trench graciously declined to produce plays written by Wheeler. John Murray and Lord Gorell, both representing the publishing firm of John Murray, rejected collections of poetry and stories submitted by Wheeler. However, there are also letters from Grace Little Rhys, requesting permission to reprint a poem by Wheeler, and George Bushnell, complimenting Wheeler on her poetry and the recent publication of her Ireland's Veil and Other Poems.
Finally there are several letters reflecting some of Wheeler's personal friendships, such as the letters from Priscilla Bright McLaren and Una O'Connor. In her letter, Actress Una O'Connor described her role as "Minnie the Moocher" in The Bride of Frankenstein and commented on working with Boris Karloff.
The one-page report describes presentations at a Irish Circle dinner devoted to "Uncanny Stories." Several of the letters make reference to this dinner, which probably occurred in 1932.
Related collections:
Ms 99 Alice Meynell letters to Ethel Rolt WheelerMs 99 Lady Gregory letter to Ethel Rolt Wheeler
Contents List
Letters to Ethel Rolt Wheeler, arranged alphabetically
by correspondent.
F1 Aberdeen-Dunsany
Aberdeen and Temair, Ishbel Gordon, Marchioness of, 1857-1939.
1934 May 4 TLS 2p
Aitken, W. Francis.
1932 Dec 15 ALS 2p
Asquith, Cynthia, Lady, 1887-1960.
1926 Nov 26 ALS 1p
1932 Nov 18 ALS 2p
Dec 12 ALS 2p
Dec 24 ALS 1p
Barrett, Wilson, 1848-1904.
1904 Apr 5 ALS 2p
Boyle, William, 1853-1923.
1905 Dec 19 ALS 4p
Bushnell, George Herbert, 1896-
1937 Jan 28 ALS 3p
Note: Includes a prospectus for Bushnell's book
Sir Richard Grenville.
Carroll, Paul Vincent, 1900-1968.
1933 May 23 TLS 1p
Dulanty, J. W.
1933 Feb 22 TLS 1p
May 18 TLS 1p
Note: Also includes a letter from the Office of
the High Commissioner of the Irish Free State.
Dunsany, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, Baron, 1878-1957.
1933 May 26 ALS 1p
Letters to Ethel Rolt Wheeler (cont'd)
F2 Ervine-Murray
Ervine, St. John G. (St. John Greer), b. 1883.
1933 May 24 TLS 1p
Forbes-Robertson, Johnston, Sir, 1853-1937.
1901 Oct 12 ALS 1p
Gibson, Wilfrid Wilson, 1878-1962.
1934 Sep 20 ALS 1p
Hannay, James Owen, 1865-1950.
1926 Dec 13 TLS 1p
1933 May 27 TLS 1p
McKinnel, Norman.
1913 Nov 12 TLS 1p
McLaren, Priscilla Bright.
1905 Dec 22 ALS 4p
1906 Jan 4 ALS 2p
Mead, G. R. S. (George Robert Stow), 1863-1933.
1906 Apr 3 ALS 1p
1915 Jul 22 ALS 1p
Meyerstein, Edward Harry William, 1889-1952.
1936 Oct 31 ALS 1p
1937 Apr 6 ALS 1p
Morley, Malcolm, 1890-
1927 Jul 18 TLS 1p
John Murray (Firm).
1917 Jan 2 TLS 1p
Note: Written by John Murray.
1931 Feb 10 TLS 1p
Note: Written by John Murray.
Aug 24 TLS 1p
Note: Written by Lord Gorell.
Letters to Ethel Rolt Wheeler (cont'd)
F3 O'Brien-O'Neill
O'Brien, Kate, 1897-1974.
1933 May 18 ALS 3p
O'Connor, Una.
1935 Jan 15 ALS 6p
O'Donovan, Fred.
1933 May 16 ALS 1p
Jun 9 ALS 2p
O'Neill, Maire, 1887-1952.
1932 May 13 ALS 2p
F4 Rhys-Whitten
Rhys, Grace Little, 1865-1929.
1926 Jan 4 ALS 2p
Sinclair, May.
1926 Nov 29 ALS 1p
Stopes, Marie Charlotte Carmichael, 1880-1958.
1938 Jan 18 TLS 1p
Jan 20 ALS 1p
[Dec 25] Card 1p
Strong, L. A. G. (Leonard Alfred George), 1896-1958.
To Miss Bullen.
1932 May 11 TLS 1p
Trench, Herbert, 1865-1923.
1909 Jul 15 TLS 1p
Whitten, Wilfred, 1864-1942.
1919 Apr 11 ALS 2p
F5 Unidentified
1933 Dec 30 ALS 4p
Note: Signed "Louis." Also includes an unrelated
typescript summary of the events occurring at the
"Uncanny Stories" Dinner hosted by the Irish
Circle of the Lyceum Club.
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