L. A. G. Strong letters to Mary Turner and Tom Turner
Scope and Content Note
The L. A. G. Strong letters to Mary Turner and Tom Turner contains 41 letters written by British author L. A. G. (Leonard Alfred George) Strong (1896-1959) to his friend, bibliophile Tom Turner (1870-1949), as well as 150 autograph letters addressed to Mary Turner (born circa 1924), Tom Turner's daughter. The letters to Mary Turner document an affair she seems to have had with Strong.
This collection is arranged in two series: Series I. Letters to Tom Turner; and Series II. Letters to Mary Turner. In both series, all correspondence present is incoming to Tom Turner or to Mary Turner.
Series I. primarily contains letters from Strong to his friend Tom Turner. Most of the letters were written between 1934 and 1940, with one final letter from December 1949, possibly received not long before Turner's death. The letters document Strong and Turner's developing friendship, travels and works-in-progress (particularly Strong's), plans for extended visits, their families' health, and their occasional interactions with other authors. Many letters thank Turner for sending books to Strong. Also included is a photograph of Strong dated May 2, 1937, as well as letters to Tom Turner from other correspondents.
Series II. contains approximately 150 letters and several telegrams sent from L. A. G. Strong to Tom Turner's daughter, Mary Turner (born circa 1924). Most of the letters are dated 1938-1947, and over the course of the decade their relationship developed into an affair, which flourished between 1942 and 1946 and seemed to end relatively amicably when Mary Turner became seriously involved with and eventually engaged to a man named "Herbert" in 1946-1947. Also included in this series are letters to Mary Turner from others.
The letters were written in England during World War II and provide evidence of this era via patriotic postmarks and Strong's references to air raids.
Dates
- Creation: 1934-1958
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1938-1947
Creator
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/
L. A. G. (Leonard Alfred George) Strong
British author L. A. G. (Leonard Alfred George) Strong (1896-1959) wrote prolifically and across many genres, producing fiction, poetry, literary criticism, local histories, one-act plays, and short stories.
Strong was born March 8, 1896, in Plymouth, England. His mother was Irish and his father half-Irish; strong ties to his Irish heritage greatly informed Strong's writings and travels. He was also elected to the Irish Academy of Letters.
Strong attended Brighton College and Wadham College of Oxford. During his time at Wadham, he began teaching at the Summer Fields preparatory school in North Oxford, where he developed a solid professional reputation and worked frequently over the next ten years. During this time, in 1926, he married Dorthea Sylvia Brinton. From 1938-1958, Strong served as the director of Methuen and Company Publishers.
In 1929, Strong published his first novel, Dewer Rides as well as his short story collection, The English Captain and Other Stories . Both of these works were very successful, prompting his decision to become a full-time writer. His mysteries proved to be very popular, especially All Fall Down (1944). He also wrote literary criticism and works about several authors, such as James Joyce and W. B. Yeats, with whom he corresponded regularly.
Strong's work was popular in his time, although its critical reception was often mixed. In addition to his election to the Irish Academy of Letters, he was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and recipient of the James Tait Black Prize in 1946.
Strong died August 17, 1958, from thrombosis following a minor operation.
"L. A. G. Strong." Contemporary Authors Online. (Detroit: Gale, 2001). Gale Biography In Context. Accessed November 20, 2012.Strong, L. A. G.Green Memory. (London: Methuen and Company, 1961).
Tom Turner and Mary Turner
Tom Turner (1870-1949) was a British post office official and an ardent bibliophile. Mary Turner (born circa 1924) was Tom Turner's daughter.
Tom Turner loved to collect books (although he did not like to be called a "collector") and amassed a library of thousands of volumes. Unlike many bibliophiles, he enjoyed sharing his books, lending and giving away as many as he kept for himself. He also loved to share with others the knowledge he had gained from his extensive reading, and he loved to talk about books. He befriended and regularly corresponded with several authors, notably L. A. G. Strong, whose The Sacred River: An Approach to James Joyce was dedicated to Turner. His library, containing over 8,000 volumes, was purchased by the University of Illinois in 1952.
Ray, Gordon Norton.Books As a Way of Life. (New York: The Grolier Club, 1988). 372-375.Biographical material derived from the collection.
Extent
.6 linear foot (2 boxes)
Abstract
The L. A. G. Strong letters to Mary Turner and Tom Turner contains 41 letters written by British author L. A. G. (Leonard Alfred George) Strong (1896-1959) to his friend, bibliophile Tom Turner (1870-1949), as well as 150 autograph letters addressed to Mary Turner (born circa 1924), Tom Turner's daughter. The letters to Mary Turner document an affair she seems to have had with Strong.
Source
Purchase, 2012.
Shelving Summary
- Boxes 1-2: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes
Processing
Processed and encoded by Elyse Brown, November 2012.
Subject
- Strong, L. A. G. (Leonard Alfred George), 1896-1958--Correspondence (Person)
- Turner, Mary, 1924- --Correspondence (Person)
- Turner, Tom, 1870- --Correspondence (Person)
- Turner, Mary, 1924- (Correspondent, Person)
- Turner, Tom, 1870- (Correspondent, Person)
Genre / Form
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Finding aid for L. A. G. Strong letters to Mary Turner and Tom Turner
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
- Date
- 2012 November 29
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of Delaware Library Special Collections Repository