mss0099_0850.xml Finding aid for Charles Morgan letters to Mrs. Hotson1945-1946 University of Delaware Library, Special Collections University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 Phone: 302-831-2229 Fax: 302-831-6003 URL: http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/
Date encoded (2009 November 16) Finding aid encoded 2009 November 16 English Charles Morgan letters to Mrs. Hotson1945-1946 Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 Phone: 302-831-2229 Fax: 302-831-6003 URL: http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/
 Morgan, Charles, 1894-1958. Charles Morgan letters to Mrs. Hotson1945-1946 MSS 099, F850 4 items (13 p.) These four holograph letters were written by British author Charles Morgan to an American friend from Maine named Mrs. Hotson. Morgan wrote to thank Mrs. Hotson for parcels of food and necessities sent by her to assist the Morgans with shortages caused by World War II. Materials entirely in English. University of Delaware Library - Special Collections Source

Gift of Mark Samuels Lasner, 2009.

 Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

 Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, http://www.lib.udel.edu/cgi-bin/askspec.cgi

 Citation

MSS 099, F850, Charles Morgan letters to Mrs. Hotson, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

 Shelving Summary Box 59, F850: Shelved in SPEC MSS 099 manuscript boxes Processing

Processed and encoded by Anita Wellner, November 2009.

 Biographical Note

British writer Charles Langbridge Morgan wrote several plays, eleven novels, and numerous essays.

Charles Langbridge Morgan was born on January 22, 1894, in Bromley, Kent. He was a cadet in the Royal Navy and later attended naval colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth. From 1911-1913 he served in the Atlantic and China before resigning to pursue a literary career. However, at the outbreak of World War I Morgan volunteered for reenlistment in the Royal Navy, joining the Naval Brigade forces at Antwerp. In the fall of 1914 Morgan was taken prisoner in Holland, where during his internment Morgan began writing his first novel, The Gunroom (1919) in which he was critical of the British Navy. Though critical of the Royal Navy, Morgan again volunteered for service during World War II, and he served in the British Admiralty from 1939-1944.

After studying at Oxford, beginning in 1921 Morgan worked as a drama critic for The Times of London. In 1926 he became the paper’s principal drama critic, a post he held until 1939.

In the 1930s and 1940s, when Morgan’s success as a writer was at its peak, he won three important literary prizes for his novels: the Prix Fémina-Vie Heureuse (1929); the Hawthornden Prize (1932); and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize (1940).

Morgan was one of the few foreigners to become an Académicien in the Institut de France. He also received honorary doctorates from St. Andrews University (LL.D., 1947), Université de Caen (1948), and Université de Toulouse (1948). Morgan died in London, on February 6, 1958.

Morgan, Charles. Selected Letters. Ed. Eiluned Lewis. London: Macmillan, 1967. "Charles Morgan." Contemporary Authors Online(reproduced in Biography Resource Center). http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed November 2009)

 Scope and Content Note

These four holograph letters were written by British author Charles Morgan to an American friend from Maine named Mrs. Hotson. Morgan wrote to thank Mrs. Hotson for parcels of food and necessities sent by her to assist the Morgans with shortages caused by World War II.

Writing in the first two years following World War II, Morgan expressed his gratitude, but also provided his opinions on economic circumstances in Great Britain. Morgan criticized Britain's acceptance of loans from the United States and lamented the limits on travel outside of Great Britain. Morgan also mentioned his son in the Grenadier Guards and provided glimpses of daily life in Britain just after the war.

 Arrangement

The letters are arranged chronologically.

 Selected Search Terms Personal Names Morgan, Charles, 1894-1958--Correspondence. Hotson, Mrs.--Correspondence. Corporate Names Great Britain. Army. Grenadier Guards--20th century. Topical Terms World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects--Great Britain.Authors, British--20th century. Geographic Names Great Britain--History--20th century--Sources. Form/Genre Terms Letters (correspondence) Personal Contributors Hotson, Mrs., correspondent. Related Materials in this Repository

This item forms part of MSS 099 Miscellaneous Literary and Historical Manuscripts.

MSS 397, Charles Morgan letters to Ronald Armstrong

 Detailed Contents List 59 F850 Autograph letter signed1945 December 31 1 item (6 p.)

Extensive letter thanking Mrs Hotson for a recent parcel. Morgan commented on the economy in post-war Great Britain, opposed accepting American loans, lamented the difficulties in financing travel outside of the island, mentioned his son, who served as a Grenadier Guard, and expressed his concerns about Russia's aggressive movements.

 59 F850 Autograph letter signed 1946 April 9 1 item (2 p.)

Morgan again thanked Mrs. Hotson for a recent arrival and mentioned a future trip to teach in Switzerland.

 59 F850 Autograph letter signed1946 April 16 1 item (3 p.)

In this letter Morgan not only thanked Mrs. Hotson for a package but also an invitation to visit Maine. Morgan also discussed the continued shortages, his reluctance to travel to the United States because of currency issues and tomorrow's departure for Switzerland.

59 F850 Autograph letter signed1946 June 14 1 item (2 p.)

Written on his return from Switzerland, Morgan celebrated another parcel and mentioned the recent Victory March in London.