| Girton/GCPP Freeman contains: |
|---|
| 1 |
Cambridge letters |
| 2 |
Letters home |
| 3 |
'Alma Mater' |
|
Personal Papers of Gwendolen Freeman
| Title |
'Alma Mater' |
| Reference |
GCPP Freeman 3 |
| Creator |
Freeman, Gwendolen |
| Covering Dates |
1980–2001 |
| Extent and Medium |
2 files; Paper |
|
| Content and context |
Manuscript of 'Alma Mater' and correspondence surrounding its publication. |
| Girton/GCPP Freeman 3 contains: |
|
1
|
Manuscript of 'Alma Mater'. Manuscript of 'Alma Mater', a memoir by Gwendolen Freeman about her time at Girton. It contains excerpts from her letters home, which are held with the Freeman papers at Girton College. The manuscript is a photocopy of the original and has handwritten annotations and corrections by GF. Of interest may be the first and last few pages of the manuscript, as these do not appear in the final version of the published work: they were deemed unsuitable by the Mistress of Girton College. They contain an account of a meeting of ex-Girtonians in the present, and wistfully reflect on how much GF and her peers have changed since their time at Girton. The book as a whole is arranged chronologically, although some of the early chapters are thematic, dealing with topics such as 'Societies' and 'Entertainments'. It is possible to see quite a strong reflection of GF's letters home in her 'Alma Mater', in terms of how the book is arranged and the material that is used. The beginning of the memoir, like GF's letters home, deal with her first impressions of Girton and the other students and lecturers at Girton. The narrative is in no way sparse, however, and it is clear that there is a lot of material that has come from outside the letters, so filling in gaps in time that would arise for a reader who has access only to the letters. The manuscript and letters home complement each other well, not least because the former gives the reader the opportunity to view the same events through a 'less naïve' lens.
Creator: Freeman, Gwendolen.
1 file; Paper. |
1980 |
|
2
|
Correspondence about publication. Correspondence predominantly between the editors of Pevensey Press (Ruth Smith and Ted V Buttrey), Poppy Jolowicz (Bursar of Girton) and Gwendolen Freeman, between 1985 and 2001. One undated letter. Other correspondence includes one letter from Rachelle H Saltzman to GF, one from KAF Brewin (editor of Brewin Books) to Kate Perry (Archivist at Girton) and one from Cecilia Green (Secretary of Pevensey Press) to Mrs Rathbone (on the administrative staff at Girton). The letters concern the publication of 'Alma Mater', GF's memoir of her time at Girton. (The manuscript of this work is part of the Freeman papers at Girton College.) It was an extremely long, drawn-out process that spanned almost five years, with much delay and hesitation before the final publication of the manuscript. GF's correspondence with Pevensey Press began with Ruth Smith, but after one year it was entirely with Ted Buttrey. Only a few of the letters in the collection are from Ted Buttrey himself, so the record of correspondence with Pevensey Press on the whole comes from letters from GF and Poppy Jolowicz to Ted Buttrey. There is, of course, correspondence between GF and Poppy Jolowicz. The project was one that was very close to GF's heart, judging from her feeling of 'devastation' (April 1987) when, after almost two years of negotiations, she found that Pevensey Press had decided not to publish the manuscript without funding from Girton College (who decided that it was too expensive to fund). GF takes many measures to try to keep alive her hope of getting the work published, from offering to finance the publication herself to asking at least four other publishers whether they would be interested in the manuscript (June-July 1987). There is a break in correspondence between Pevensey Press and GF until, 14 months later, GF writes again to TVB that she has refreshed the manuscript and would like it to be reconsidered for publishing. This time, negotiations are more successful: Girton College agrees to fund the publication but, at the request of the Mistress, without the original first and last few paragraphs. The collection demonstrates the trials and tribulations for writers in the publishing world, aptly summed up in GF's joke to TVB: 'A collection of my verse is about to appear. The publishers have had it nearly 3 ½ years. Even worse than you!' (Undated).
Creator: Freeman, Gwendolen; Various.
1 file; Paper. |
August 1985-June 2001 |
|
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