Overview

Harold Acton (1904-1994) was a British writer and scholar who lived and studied in Beijing, China and Florence, Italy. This collection includes an autographed letter and postcard written by Harold Acton to Scottish writer and historian Geoffrey Elborn in 1978. The letter is dated January 19, 1978 and discusses a recent meeting. In the postcard, dated April 22, 1978, Acton notes a tentative date for a future meeting.

Overview James Purdy (1914-2009) was an American novelist, playwright, and poet known for his grim and surreal depictions of socially marginalized characters. This collection includes a series of letters written by Purdy between 1976 and 1981 to Scottish writer Geoffrey Elborn. The letters discuss Elborn's in-process book about British critic and poet Dame Edith Sitwell, with whom Purdy was acquainted, as well as Purdy's difficulty with publishers. An annotated typescript of Purdy's 1976 play, ...