Shirley Hazzard papers, 1920s-2016

Shirley Hazzard (1931-2016) was a novelist, short-story writer, and essayist. She also wrote two non-fiction books about the United Nations. Hazzard was born in Australia, but left the country in 1951, living in New York City and Capri, Italy. The papers include address books, appointment books, audiovisual materials, books, clippings, correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, notebooks, notes, photographs, printed materials, research files.

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library holds the papers of both Shirley Hazzard and her husband, Francis Steegmuller. Many of their papers are intermingled between the two collections, particularly because correspondence and photographs often involved both Hazzard and Steegmuller as a couple after their marriage in 1963. For the most part, it seems that papers were placed in one collection or the other based upon when they were received at the Library. Steegmuller began giving papers to the Library in 1967. Hazzard did not give any papers until 1990, and even then, primarily gave papers related to her writing and other work related to the United Nations. Material that was given prior to Steegmuller's death in 1994, or shortly thereafter, was mostly added to the Steegmuller papers. Later donations, particularly those received after Hazzard's death, were added to the Hazzard papers, with the exception of a few boxes of additional books, manuscripts, and other material that were clearly related only to Steegmuller. This being the case, certain correspondents are filed with the Steegmuller papers, and others are filed with the Hazzard papers. In addition, the majority of their personal photographs are filed with the Hazzard papers.

Materials received after Hazzard's death in 2016 were quite disorganized. For the most part, materials were loosely grouped together but largely unfoldered – correspondence, photographs, professional materials, United Nations materials, writings about, etc. Much of the correspondence was still in envelopes and mixed together in boxes; as it was completely unusable, the processing archivist identified and arranged the correspondence at a granular level. For other materials, including general professional files, United Nations materials, and writings by and about, less granular arrangement was done. Many of these materials were in loose piles; these were housed in folders and described in the finding aid.

The Hazzard papers include a wide range of personal correspondence, and include letters addressed to both Hazzard and Steegmuller. The correspondents include artists, writers, other couples and friends, and the Hazzard family. They also include many women – artists, writers, friends, and wives. The correspondence is primarily incoming, although there are some outgoing copies filed in individual files, as well as two files of miscellaneous outgoing copies filed at the end of the subseries. In addition, a few correspondents gave correspondence received from Hazzard to the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, including Patricia Clarke, Donald Keene, and Carlo Knight.

The collection also contains manuscripts and other materials related to Hazzard's fiction writing. The documentation for Hazzard's last novel, The Great Fire is the most extensive. The collection includes manuscripts, proofs, corrections, professional files, and related materials, as well as awards, clippings, photographs, reviews, and other documentation of appearances and related events. The collection also includes personal material that informed the writing of the novel, including correspondence, a diary, and photographs. The collection also includes manuscripts for Bay of Noon, The Evening of the Holiday, The Transit of Venus, various manuscripts for The New Yorker, and various short fiction manuscripts.

Hazzard also wrote non-fiction. Some this work relates to the United Nations, where Hazzard worked in the 1950s and early 1960s. She wrote two books, Death of An Ideal (1973) and Countenance of Truth (1990), as well as a collection of short stories People in Glass Houses (1967) that were primarily based on the United Nations. The papers include addresses, articles, audiotapes, correspondence, documents, letters to the editor, manuscripts, photographs, and research materials related to this work. Hazzard also wrote other articles and non-fiction work including The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples (2008), with Francis Steegmuller, and Greene on Capri (2000). The papers include a manuscript and other materials related to The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples. Hazzard donated materials related to Graham Greene and Greene on Capri to Georgetown University; there is very little material related to this work in the papers. The papers also include other manuscripts, notes, clippings, magazines, programs, and other non-fiction writings, but most of these are not well organized.

There are professional files in the papers, but most are not well organized. There are a limited number of subject files, as well as some general files of reader mail, and awards (objects). The majority of Hazzard's professional files were unfiled and unsorted; these were foldered and described without additional arrangement. These files primarily consist of correspondence, but also include agreements, royalty statements, and other professional materials. There are also clippings, interviews, reviews, and other writings about Hazzard's professional life in Series VI: Writings By and About; however, these materials were also unfiled and unsorted, and were foldered and described without additional arrangement. There are some professional photographs in Series IX: Photographs, including both professional portraits and events. There are also a small amount of recordings related to professional events in Series X: Audio and Video Recordings.

The papers also contain a wealth of personal materials. Hazzard kept address books, appointment books, diaries, and notebooks. Both the appointment books and notebooks often also served as diaries. These document much of Hazzard's life, from approximately 1948-2013. In addition, there are also vital records, some personal files, and a few pieces of jewelry. The papers also include personal photographs of Hazzard, as well as with Steegmuller and with friends. These photographs also include informal events, parties, and travel photographs. A selection of books from Hazzard's apartment in New York City were also kept with her papers, although most of Hazzard's books were donated elsewhere.