Table of Contents

Restrictions on Access

The collection is open for research.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, http://www.lib.udel.edu/cgi-bin/askspec.cgi

Related Materials in This Repository

MSS 99, F301 Dunsany Letter to unidentified, 1913 Mar 8 ALS, 4 pp.

MSS 99, F354 "A Tale of Revenge," [1950] Carbon typescript of Dunsany's short story, "A Tale of Revenge," signed with autograph corrections. 8 pp.

MSS 99, F355 "A Matter of Law," undated Carbon typescript of Dunsany's short story, "A Matter of Law." 16 pp.

Source

Purchase, January 1988.

Citation

MSS 264, Montgomery Evans II collection of Lord Dunsany manuscripts, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

Biographical Note

The Irish poet, playwright, and short story writer, Lord Dunsany (Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett), was born in London on July 24, 1878. Although he is considered a writer of the Irish Literary Renaissance and knew the main figures of the movement, Dunsany was a British subject who associated primarily with the British aristocracy. He attended Cheam and Eton, and received his military education at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

During his military career Dunsany was transferred to Gibraltar, where he developed a fascination for the Middle East that is reflected in many of his short stories. After participating in the Boer Wars in South Africa, during which he befriended Rudyard Kipling, Dunsany returned to his estate in County Meath, Ireland.

Dunsany succeeded his father as the eighteenth baron in 1899. In 1904 he married Lady Beatrice Child Villiers and began a period of great literary productivity, in which he produced numerous plays and short stories. Following service in the first World War, Dunsany became the Irish chess champion, a big game hunter, and a popular lecturer in Great Britain and the United States.

Lord Dunsany's first play, The Glittering Gate (1909), was written for production at Dublin's Abbey Theatre at the request of William Butler Yeats. Some of the other plays written by Dunsany include King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior (1911), The Gods of the Mountain (1911), A Night at an Inn (1916), The Queen's Enemies (1916), The Laughter of the Gods (1919), and If (1921).

Lord Dunsany's works, especially his short stories, are known for their fantasy, myth, humor, and exoticism. His illustrator, the well known artist S.H. Sime, created drawings that were as fanciful as Dunsany's stories. The narrator of many of these fantastic tales, a character named Joseph Jorkens, appears frequently in Dunsany's works. Some of the Jorkens books include The Travel Tales of Mr. Jorkens (1931), Jorkens Remembers Africa (1934), Jorkens Has a Large Whiskey (1940), and Jorkens Borrows Another Whiskey (1954). Other collections of his stories include The Sword of Welleran, and Other Stories (1908), The Book of Wonder: a chronicle of little adventures at the edge of the world (l9l2),and Fifty one Tales (1915).

In addition to plays and short stories, Lord Dunsany also wrote several books of poetry, including Fifty Poems (1929) and War Poems (1941).

After publishing over 55 books and hundreds of articles and plays, Lord Dunsany died in Dublin on October 25, 1957.

Biographical Source: Locher, Frances C. (ed.). Contemporary Authors. Volume 104. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1982. p. 130.

Knepper, B. G."Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, Lord Dunsany," Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 10: Modern British Dramatists, 1900-1945. Part I. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1982. pp. 152-162.

Scope and Content Note

The Montgomery Evans II Collection of Lord Dunsany Manuscripts, spanning the years 1912-1935, consists of galley proofs, typescripts, printed journals, two letters, tear sheets, and a play program. The collection of twenty one items was originally gathered by Montgomery Evans II. They were a part of Evans' larger collection of published material by or about Lord Dunsany. The journals bear Evans' stamp and the two folios in the collection bear his bookplates, which were designed by Lord Dunsany's illustrator, S.H. Sime. The collection is organized into two series, manuscripts and printed material. Series I. Manuscripts consists of a typescript of Dunsany's short story, "The Escape From the Valley;" the galley proofs of his collection of plays, Plays of Gods and Men; typescripts and galley proofs for the short stories "The Mermaid's Husband" and "King" (also titled "The Electric King"); a letter from Dunsany to Evans; and a typescript poem titled "May You Go Safe." Series II. Printed material includes tear sheets of four Dunsany short stories which appeared in The Evening Standard; issues of The Poetry Review and The Irish Review, which contain stories by Dunsany; a program for a performance of Lord Dunsany's play, "If;" a tear sheet of "The Postman of Otford;" and an article about Dunsany. The material in both series is arranged alphabetically by title. Other manuscripts written by Lord Dunsany are available in the Literary and Historical Manuscripts Collection (MSS 99) in Special Collections. Some autograph notes and other letters may found tipped in several books from the Montgomery Evans II collection which were transferred to the printed collections in Special Collections. These items are listed on the final page of this finding aid. For a complete list of the Lord Dunsany books and manuscripts collected by Montgomery Evans II, please ask a manuscripts librarian.

Arrangement Note

The collection is organized into three series: I. Manuscripts; II. Printed Material; and III. Items found in books from the Montgomery Evans II collection

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Selected Search Terms

Personal Names

Evans, Montgomery, II.

Topical Terms

Authors, Irish--History--20th century--Sources.

Dramatists, Irish--History--20th century--Sources.

Irish drama--History--20th century--Sources.

Form/Genre Terms

Correspondence.

Galley proofs.

Manuscripts.

Typescripts.

Occupation

Authors.

Playwrights.

Poets.