Table of Contents

Restrictions on access

Unrestricted access.

Source

Purchase, 1991.

Citation

[after identification of item(s)], Barney Rosset - Samuel Beckett collection, Archives and Manuscripts, John J. Burns Library, Boston College

Biographical Note

Samuel Beckett was born in Dublin, Ireland on April 13, 1906. He studied modern languages at Trinity College in Dublin and graduated in 1927. Beckett taught English at the École Normale Superieure in Paris for two years before returning to Trinity College to teach French in 1930. He left Trinity College after one year to travel through Europe. Beckett settled in Paris, France in 1937.

During World War II, Beckett joined an underground resistance group. He was forced to flee from Paris to unoccupied France in 1942 because of the threat of arrest by the German Gestapo. In unoccupied France, Beckett supported himself as an agricultural laborer until the end of the war.

Beckett returned to Paris in 1945 and began writing in earnest. He produced a number of stories, including Molloy(1951), Malone Meurt (1951; Malone Dies), and L'Innommable(1953; The Unamable). Beckett also wrote plays during this period, including Eleutheriaand Waiting for Godot.

Waiting for Godot was written in 1948, published in French in 1952, and in English in 1953. The play brought Beckett international fame. In succeeding years he avoided the limelight and dedicated his life to his work. Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. Beckett died in Paris on December 22, 1989.

Scope and Content Note

Manuscripts represent three decades of Beckett's writing, and include plays, stories, and other works, many with annotations. Correspondence is made up of letters and cards from Beckett to Rosset, discussing the author's life and work. The Rosset/Grove Press files include business and financial records relating to Beckett's career. Among the subject files are reviews, articles, photographs, theater programs, and correspondence with various directors, writers, and actors. One manuscript, Eleutheria, in French.

Arrangement Note

Organized into three series: (1) Manuscripts, (2) Correspondence, and (3) Rosset/Grove press files.

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Selected Search Terms

Personal Names

Beckett, Samuel, 1906- --Correspondence.

Beckett, Samuel, 1906- --Criticism and interpretation.

Beckett, Samuel, 1906- --Dramatic production.

Beckett, Samuel, 1906- --Manuscripts.

Brustein, Robert.

Cronyn, Hume.

Horowitz, I. A. (Israel Albert), 1907-1973.

Rosset, Barney, collector.

Schneider, Alan.

Corporate Names

Grove Press.

Samuel French, Inc.

Topical Terms

Authors, Irish--20th century--Correspondence.

Dramatists, Irish--20th century--Correspondence.

Literary agents--United States--Correspondence.

Theater--Production and direction--Sources.

Theater of the absurd--History--Sources.