F R Leavis Collection, 1934 - 2016
Scope and Contents
Letters from F R Leavis to L. C. Knights, David Holbrook, Frank Bradbrook, C B Winder, R O C Winkler, A I Doyle, John Tasker, Geoffrey Walton, Canon Frank Telfer, Ronald Hayman, Robert Tudor Jones, Peter Coveney, Michael Yudkin and others (mainly Downing alumni). Also includes reading list suggestions, newspaper articles and photos, memoirs by former students and correspondence concerning donation.
Dates
- Creation: 1934 - 2016
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Most letters are open to researchers, but some closure periods apply.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright in Leavis letters resides with Leavis's literary executor, his son Dr Robin Leavis. (Prof. Ghan Singh, the other named literary executor, d.2009.) Copyright expires 2048.
Biographical / Historical
Frank Raymond Leavis (1895-1978) was Fellow at Downing 1936-62 and Honorary Fellow 1962-4. He became Director of Studies in English and one of the most influential literary critics of the 20th century. He was editor of the literary journal 'Scrutiny', 1932-1953, with his wife, Q. D. Leavis. He held a visiting professorship at York University after leaving Downing College, from c.1965-1976.
Extent
c. 750 item(s) (c. 750 letters) : Paper
c. 12 archive box(es) (c. 10 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Other Finding Aids
Detailed finding aid available to visiting researchers on request.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These letters have all been donated by their respective recipients or their relatives.
Bibliography
Originator(s)
Leavis, Frank Raymond (1895-1978)
Subject
- Holbrook, David Kenneth, 1923 - 2011 (novelist, poet and academic) (Recipient, Person)
- Winder, Charles Barry (Recipient, Person)
- Doyle, Anthony Ian, 1925 - 2018 (librarian) (Recipient, Person)
- Bradbrook, Frank Wilson, 1917 - 1983 (literary scholar) (Recipient, Person)
- Downing College Literary Society (Organization)
- Leavis, Queenie Dorothy, 1906 - 1981 (nee Roth, literary scholar and university teacher) (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Downing College Repository
Downing College Archive
Downing College
Cambridge Cambridgeshire CB2 1DQ United Kingdom
+44 (0)1223 762905
archivist@dow.cam.ac.uk