Lord Dunsany Letters to Mrs. Wieland

Collection

Identifier: MSE/IR 1002

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of ten letters sent from Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany to a Mrs. Wieland, largely concerning advice and critiques of her poetry. Additionally discusses Dunsany’s opinions on the publishing world.

Dates

1926 - 1951
Majority of material found within 1928 - 1933

Creator

Dunsany, Lord, 1878-1957 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Playwright, poet, and fantasy novelist Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett (1878-1957), 18th Baron of Dunsany was born in London to conservative MP John William Plunkett (1853 - 1899), later 17th Baron of Dunsany, and his wife Ernle Elizabeth Louisa Maria Grosvenor (1855-1916) in 1878. Dunsany initially entertained notions of serving as a conservative MP, standing for West Wiltshire in 1906, but soon abandoned politics in favor of literature, publishing his first short story collection, The Gods of Pegāna, in 1905. Dunsany remained staunchly unionist throughout his life, using his writings to critique De Valera and other Irish nationalists.

For a brief period following the death of J.M. Synge (1871 - 1909), W.B. Yeats (1865 - 1939) took on Dunsany as his protégé, encouraging his playwriting in particular, though the two would later have an acrimonious falling out. Dunsany later acquired his own protégés, such as Francis Ledwidge (1887 - 1917). While Dunsany’s many novels focused on evoking the landscape of the Irish countryside in Meath, eventually he left Dunsany itself to his son, retiring to Kent in 1946. Following his death from appendicitis in Dublin in 1957, Dunsany was buried in Kent.

Extent

0.5 Cubic Feet (Legal Document Box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically

Related Materials

EPH 5015, The John Bennett Shaw Collection of Printed Ephemera for Modern Authors, Rare Books & Special Collections, Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame, has numerous printed materials written by Lord Dunsany (Box 3, Folders 150-159; Box 4, folders 160-161).

EPH 5032, The Irish Theatre Program Collection, Rare Books & Special Collections, Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame, additionally contains two programs for Dunsany's plays at the Abbey Theatre (Box 1, folder 10; Box 2, folder 64).

Subjects

Authors, Irish Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Authors, Irish -- 20th Century -- Correspondence Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Authors, Irish -- 20th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Creative writing -- Study and teaching -- Ireland Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
English Poetry -- Women Authors -- History and Criticism Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
English literature -- Irish authors Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Letters (correspondence) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Poetry -- History and Criticism Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
Poetry -- Publishing Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
Publishers and publishing Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Writing Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings