George Moore letters

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0099-F0680

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

Both letters refer to a future literary work regarding convents and mentions the need to learn about the lives of nuns. One is addressed to W. T. Stead [October 10] and the other to an unidentified individual.

Dates

Creation: 1895?

Creator

Moore, George 1852-1933 (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Access Restrictions

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, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/

George Augustus Moore (1852-1933)

George Augustus Moore, novelist and story writer, was born February 24, 1852, at Moore Hall, County Mayo, Ireland.

After his father's death in 1870, Moore painted, visited art galleries, and led a gentleman's life in England. From 1873-1880 Moore lived in Paris, studied at the l'Ecole des Beaux Arts and the Jullian's Academy, and met many of the period's avant-garde painters and writers. Notable among the many he encountered were Mallarmé, Manet, Monet, Degas, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, and Zola.

Although Moore exhibited some talent as a painter, Moore did not believe his ability was sufficient for creating great art. In the 1870s Moore began to write and had probably written a comedy titled "Worldliness" by 1874. No copies of this initial work have survived. His first published work was a volume of poems, Flowers of Passion (1878), which was followed by Martin Luther (1879), a tragedy written in collaboration with dramatist Bernard Lopez.

Financial difficulties forced his return to London in 1880, where he worked at earning a living by writing. In 1883 George Moore's first novel, A Modern Lover, appeared. During the 1880s and 1890s his works included A Mummer's Wife (1885), A Drama in Muslin (1886), Confessions of a Young Man (1888), and Esther Waters (1894).

In 1901 Moore left London and settled in Dublin, Ireland, where he wrote and produced plays, gave speeches defending the theatre movement, and began writing material which reflected his Irish heritage. During this period he wrote the collection of stories, The Untilled Field (1903); a novel, The Lake (1905); and his three volume autobiography, Hail and Farewell (1911-1914).

In 1911 Moore returned from Ireland and lived at 121 Ebury Street in London until his death in 1933. From 1911 to 1932 Moore wrote numerous books, including The Brook Kerith (1916), A Story-Teller's Holiday (1918), Avowals (1919), Héloise and Abélard (1921), Daphnis and Chloe (1924), Ulick and Soracha (1926), and Aphrodite in Aulis (1930).

Hogan, Robert (ed.)Dictionary of Irish Literature. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1979. pp. 458-466.