May Byron letter to Rev. Edwin J. Matthews, 1932 August 23
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Summary
- Creator:
- Byron, May, 1861-1936, Matthews, Edwin J., Rev., 1897-1962, and Baskin, Lisa Unger
- Abstract:
- May Byron was a prolific British author best known for her children's books including a series of biographies and abridgements of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. In this letter, she responds to Rev. Edwin J. Matthews' request for the most important life lesson she's learned and for a list of her publications. Byron responds that she couldn't possibly sum up her life's experiences into one lesson, and that she can't provide a list of her publications because she's lost track of them. She does note that most of her children's books are still in print and have "been going on selling for some 20 years."
- Extent:
- 0.1 Linear Feet (1 item)
- Language:
- Materials in English
- Collection ID:
- RL.11432
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Collection consists of a single autograph manuscript letter written by May Byron to Reverend Edwin J. Matthews. Byron's return address is "c/o British Weekly" and Matthews' address is "The Rectory, Calstone, Calne, Wiltshire." Matthews had written to ask Byron, "the one lesson which has been most impressed upon me by my life's experiences." Byron replies, "These experiences have been so wide, so varied, and in several respects so unique that I could not possibly sum up their results in one lesson." Matthews had also asked Byron for a list of her writings, and she replies that she's unable to do so because she's lost track of them. She states that both the British Museum and the Library of Congress had asked her for a similar list, and she was unable to help them, in part because of her use of pseudonyms, and also because of her many years' work as a journalist. She concludes by stating that most all her writings are currently out of print, except for her children's books, "which have been going on selling for some 20 years."
- Biographical / historical:
-
May Clarissa Gillington Byron (1861-1936) was a prolific British author who published a series of children's books, biographies, cookbooks, poetry, as well as abridgements of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. She published under a number of pen names, including M.C. Gillington and Maurice Clare. Her husband, the English writer Henry James Byron, was a distant cousin of the poet Lord Byron.
- Acquisition information:
- The May Byron letter to Rev. Edwin J. Matthews was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2015.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Megan E. Lewis, April, 2017
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2015-0050-LUBMSS248
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], May Byron letter to Rev. Edwin J. Matthews, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.