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Mary Webb Papers, 1898-1926
1 box (0.5 linear ft.)

Collection number: MS 8

Abstract:
English poet and novelist acknowledged by the Institut Français in 1926 for "the best imaginative work in prose or verse descriptive of English life by an author who has not gained sufficient recognition." Includes 30 holographs and 58 typescript drafts of 80 poems as well as a holograph draft of a book review.
Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College, Northampton, MA

Biographical Note

Mary Webb was born in Leighton-under-the-Wrekin, Shropshire, England, on March 25, 1881 to George Edward and Sarah Alice Meredith. She was educated at home by her schoolmaster father, but spent two years in Southport attending a private school. Webb suffered from Graves's disease throughout her adult life, her most serious attack keeping her bedridden for several years at the age of twenty. She married Henry Webb in June 1912, and lived in Shropshire until 1921 when the couple moved to London. The Institut Français presented her with the Femina/Vie Heureuse prize for Precious Bane in 1926, acknowledging "the best imaginative work in prose or verse descriptive of English life by an author who has not gained sufficient recognition."

Her writings include the novels The Golden Arrow (London: Constable, 1916; New York: Dutton, 1935), Gone to Earth (London: Constable, 1917; New York: Dutton, 1917), The House in Dormer Forest (London: Hutchinson, 1920; New York: Doran, 1921), Seven for a Secret, A Love Story (London: Hutchinson, 1922; New York: Doran, 1923), Precious Bane (London: Cape, 1924; New York: Dutton, 1926), Armour Wherein He Trusted (London: Cape, 1929; New York: Dutton, 1929), a collection of essays entitled The Spring of Joy (London and Toronto: Dent/New York: Dutton, 1917; New York: Dutton, 1937), a poetry collection Fifty-one Poems Hitherto Unpublished in Book Form (London: Cape, 1946; New York: Dutton, 1947) and two anthologies Poems and the Spring of Joy (London: Cape, 1928; New York: Dutton, 1929) and Mary Webb: Collected Prose and Poems, edited by Gladys Mary Coles (Shropshire: Wildings, 1977).

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Mary Webb Papers contain 30 holographs and 58 typescript drafts of 80 poems as well as a holograph draft of a book review. The majority of these poems were published in 51 Poems (London: Cape, 1946; New York: Dutton, 1947), a posthumously published collection. The bulk of the material is undated; those works which are dated span the years 1898-1926. Twelve manuscripts were presented to Smith College by David J. and Barbara Holmes on March 29, 1994 in memory of Ruth Mortimer, Class of 1953. The book review was purchased from the Book Press on July 18, 1990, in a red cloth folder with the bookplate of H. Bradley Martin. The remaining 77 manuscripts were purchased in May 1994 from David J. Holmes on the Fund established by Hillier Krieghbaum, in memory of his wife Katherine Lancaster Krieghbaum, Class of 1938. The 77 manuscripts were housed in a blue full leather clamshell box and in a green cloth slipcase with the bookplates of H. Bradley Martin.

This collection is organized into two series:


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Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Mary Webb Papers, Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College.

History of the Collection

Twelve manuscripts were presented to Smith College by David J. and Barbara Holmes on March 29, 1994 in memory of Ruth Mortimer, Class of 1953. The book review was purchased from the Book Press on July 18, 1990, in a red cloth folder with the bookplate of H. Bradley Martin. The remaining 77 manuscripts were purchased in May 1994 from David J. Holmes on the Fund established by Hillier Krieghbaum, in memory of his wife Katherine Lancaster Krieghbaum, Class of 1938. The 77 manuscripts were housed in a blue full leather clamshell box and in a green cloth slipcase with the bookplates of H. Bradley Martin.


Additional Information
Contact Information
Mortimer Rare Book Room
William Allan Neilson Library
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063

Phone: (413) 585-2906
Fax: (413) 585-4486

Email: mrbr@smith.edu
URL: http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/rarebook