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Series I: Manuscripts and Related Materials, 1942-2013 [Bulk Dates: 1950-1964]
Subseries I.1: Published Novels, circa 1952-1964, 2013 Subseries I.2: Unpublished Novels and Novellas, circa 1957-1964 Subseries I.3: Short Stories, 1945-1962, undated Subseries I.4: Poetry, 1950-1952 Subseries I.6: Articles, 1950s-1960s Subseries I.7: Drafts and Fragments, 1942-1978, undated Subseries I.8: Other Notes and Notebooks, 1962-1964, undated
Series III: Personal and Biographical Materials, 1948-2013 [Bulk Dates: 1948-1964]
Subseries III.1: Personal Correspondence and Related Materials, 1956-2013 Subseries III.2: Diaries, 1948-1964 Subseries III.3: Documents, 1956-1962 Subseries III.4: Financial, Tax, and Legal Files, 1956-1967 Subseries III.5: School Materials, 1949-1958 Subseries III.6: Sketchbooks and Artworks, 1953-1958, undated |
Summary InformationAbstract
At a Glance
ArrangementArrangementThis collection is arranged in seven series and several subseries.
DescriptionSummaryPamela Moore (1937-1964) was an American novelist, best known for Chocolates for Breakfast (1956). Although Moore's career was short, the collection contains a wealth of documentation about her life and writings during this period. The papers contain correspondence, clippings, contracts, diaries, drafts, manuscripts, memorabilia, photographs, notebooks, notes, outlines, proofs, school materials, sketch books, and a collection of published editions of Moore's novels. The collection also includes materials related to Moore's unpublished works, including articles, novels, short stories, plays, and poetry. The collection contains a significant amount of materials for both Prophets Without Honor and Kathy, including contracts, notes, notebooks, outlines, typescripts, and other materials. These are also working files for several other projects that include character sketches, notes, synopses, and manuscripts of varying lengths. There are also typescripts for poems and several short stories, and some materials related to ideas for plays. The collection includes notes, typescripts for both published and unpublished articles, as well as copies of Moore's published articles. In many cases, Moore's unpublished works are untitled, so some manuscripts may be found to be related to one another or to larger novel projects upon further examination of the available records. The collection includes contracts, outlines, typescripts, setting copies, and other materials related to Moore's published novels. The collection lacks a full typescript for render"italic">The Exile of Suzy Q, but includes working files with typescript pages. For Chocolates for Breakfast and The Pigeons of St. Marks / East Side Story / Diana, which went through some revisions, there are multiple typescripts and revisions in the collection. There are several published editions of all of Moore's novels in the collection, as well, primarily of foreign editions of her works. The collection also includes material related to Moore's professional activities, including correspondence, contracts, clippings files, financial records, photographs, and memorabilia. Moore's papers contain many personal materials, including books, correspondence, diaries, financial records, a passport, photographs, receipts, school records, sketchbooks, and travel notes. These records shed light on Moore's relationships with her husband, her family, and with Edouard de Laurot, among others. Later correspondence and notes by others also shed light on Moore's life and work. Lastly, Moore's diaries provide insight into her family life, emotional life, relationships, social life, travel, writings, and ultimately, in her final diary entries, her suicide. The collection includes printed materials related to Moore's life and work. There are several editions of Moore's published novels; these are primarily foreign editions. The editions include original editions of Moore's novels, as well as foreign editions based upon the Harper Perennial edition of Chocolates for Breakfast (2013). The printed materials also include several books owned by Moore, several of which are inscribed to her, or signed by her. A few of these also relate to equestrians who knew and worked with Moore. A copy of the catalog prepared the literacy agency for this collection is included with the papers. The catalog provides more detailed subject information and context on correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, and other materials in the collection. While the final arrangement and organization of the collection differs from the catalog, it is still a valuable resource.
Using the CollectionRare Book and Manuscript Library Restrictions on AccessYou will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account. This collection is located on-site. Digital files can be accessed upon request via a secure laptop in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library's Reading Room. Otherwise, this collection has no restrictions. Some materials currently housed in a temporary boxes will be reboxed, but all items are accessible at this time. Please note that the final diary has a very fragile binding and should be handled with care. Terms Governing Use and ReproductionSingle photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron. Preferred CitationIdentification of specific item; Date (if known); Pamela Moore Papers; Box and Folder (if known); Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library. AccrualsNo additional material is expected. Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information. Immediate Source of Acquisition2017.2018.M104: Source of acquisition--Kevin Kanarek (Represented by Sarah Funke-Butler). Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--2018. About the Finding Aid / Processing InformationColumbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library Processing InformationPapers processed by Catherine C. Ricciard in October 2018. A small addition of a few files was processed in November 2019. Finding aid written by Catherine C. Ricciardi in November 2018, and revised in November 2019. Revision Description2018-09-07 File created. 2018-11-02 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi 2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration. 2019-11-19 Finding aid was updated by Catherine C. Ricciardi. A few files of additional material were added to the collection. 2022-10-12 Finding aid was updated by Catherine C. Ricciardi. Description of digital materials in Series VIII added. Subject HeadingsThe subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives. All links open new windows. Genre/Form
Subject
History / Biographical NoteBiographical / HistoricalPamela Moore was born on September 22, 1937, the daughter of Donald and Isabel Moore (née Walsh). Both of Moore's parents were writers. They had married in 1934, and Isabel's young daughter, Elaine, had adopted Moore's surname after their marriage. By the mid-1940s, the Moores had divorced, and Pamela Moore split time between her father in California and her mother in New York. While studying at Barnard College, Moore published her first book Chocolates for Breakfast in 1956. The first American edition of the book was published in September 1956, at the start of Moore's senior year. As Moore had planned to spend her senior year in France, she had already left the county when the edition was published in the United States. The novel became a bestseller not only in the United States, but also in Italy and France. The book went into multiple printings and was translated into several languages. The book gained notoriety for its content, which was uncommon for the 1950s, and it was compared to Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan at the time. Moore spent much of the next two years in Europe, returning to the United States in the spring of 1958. Moore was educated at Rosemary Hall (now Choate Rosemary Hall) and Barnard College. While Moore was matriculated with the Class of 1957 at Barnard College, it appears that she received her diploma in 1958 from the records in the collection. Moore married Adam Kanarek shortly after returning to the United States in 1958. The couple settled in New York, where Kanarek was studying at Brooklyn Law School. They had one son, Kevin, in 1963. Moore wrote another novel during this period, Prophets Without Honor, but it remains unpublished. Moore had started this novel in Europe, and it was based upon her relationship with Edouard de Laurot, whom she had met on her way to France in 1956. Knopf had bought the novel based upon an outline, but rejected the finished manuscript when it diverged significantly from the original outline and ultimately rescinded its contract. Moore published three additional novels after Chocolates for Breakfast but none of these matched the success of her first novel. Moore's next novel was rejected by American publishers, and published as Les Pigeons de Saint Marc by Julliard in France (1960) and as East Side Story by Longmans (1961). The book received favorable reviews in France and was reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement in the United Kingdom, but it did not receive much notice otherwise. The development of a screenplay for Chocolates for Breakfast was also explored during this period, but ultimately the project did not move forward. Moore's next novel, L'Exil de Suzy-Cœur, was published only in France (1962), and Moore and Kanarek travelled to Europe for its publication. Moore's last novel, The Horsy Set, was published by Simon & Schuster in 1963, but it did not sell well, and did not receive reviews in prominent magazines or literary publications. Moore continued to write, and began work on a novel tentatively titled Kathy, which had grown out of her revisions to Prophets Without Honor. The novel remained unfinished at the time of Moore's death. Moore died by suicide on June 7, 1964, at her home in New York City. |