"The Great Invasion of Britain" by Samuel Waddell
Overview
This story was put together by Samuel Waddell (1878-1967) and N. Mercier to rent to their schoolmates for 2d per vol per week. It describes land and sea battles with the English (including the school regiment) and the Germans pitted against the Russians and French. Also included is a note written by P. S. O'Hegarty describing Waddell's remembrance of the story.
Dates
- Creation: 1894, 1947
Creator
- Mayne, Rutherford, 1878-1967 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of Samuel John Waddell
Samuel John Waddell (1878-1967), playwright, was born in Tokyo, Japan and educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institute in Ireland. He studied engineering at the Royal University and worked for the Irish Land Commission.
In 1904, Waddell began acting and contributing plays to the Ulster Literary Theatre. Using the pseudonym Rutherford Mayne, he wrote plays in English and Gaelic that were published mainly in Ireland.
Extent
3 folder (3 folders containing 1 notebook, 2 covers and 1 leaf) : Ornamentation: Ink and watercolor illustrations by N. Mercier, and plan of battle on the Warta River, Poland.
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
This story was written by 16-year-old Samuel Waddell and illustrated by N. Mercier for rental in installments to their schoolmates.
The internal title reads, "The Invasion of Britain by Sam Waddell & N. Mercier," while the cover title reads, "Book 5. Book V. The Great Invasion of Britain. Volume Three." The back cover is inscribed, "Mercier & Waddell. Royal Academy Cliftonville. 1894." It is written in a "Note Book. 1d. 100 pages. Cream laid note paper. Suitable for pen and pencil."
The plot is a description of land and sea battles, with the English (including the school regiment) and the Germans pitted against the Russians and French. The action takes place in England, Afghanistan, the Baltic Sea, France and Poland. As well as lively ink and watercolor illustrations, it includes a plan of a battle on the Warta River in Poland.
Also in the collection is a note, written and dated December 29, 1947 by P.S. O’Hegarty: "I asked Sam Waddell about this once. He said that he was unaware that any of it had survived. The drawings were Merciers [sic] and the text his. It was a 'purely commercial' understaking, to raise cash, & was lent out to the other boys at 2d per vol. per week."
Physical Location
MS P407
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchase, P. S. O'Hegarty, 1959
Source
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Samuel Waddell Literary Manuscript Collection
- Subtitle
- "The Great Invasion of Britain" by Samuel Waddell
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by alh, 1973; revised by ksc, 2006; revised by mab, 2010. Finding aid encoded by skt, revised by mab, 2010.
- Date
- 2006
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/4607508564
- Preferred citation
-
"The Great Invasion of Britain" by Samuel Waddell, Department of Special Collections, MS P407, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository