Resources
The School of English holds a collection of photocopies forming a significant section of the archive of the publisher John Lane, which published the work of many literary figures in the late Victorian period and the early decades of the twentieth century under the imprint of Bodley Head.
Material in the Archive includes work by W.B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, E. Nesbit, Vita Sackville-West, and D.H. Lawrence.
In addition to letters and other correspondence from many notable authors, the archive includes:
- Photocopies of the letters etc contained in 'The Yellow Book' box
- Letters relating to The Love of an Unknown Soldier, a work published anonymously by Coningsby Dawson
- Photocopies of the following manuscripts: G.K.Chesterton's Orthodoxy; Frederick Greenwood's Imagination in Dreams; and Stephen Phillip's Armageddon.
- A box of Lane business material – sporadic accounts etc. Plus one large original ledger.
In 2009, the Archive was supplemented by a further donation of associated volumes published by Lane.
A full list of contents is available, compiled by the Archive's previous curator Michael Rhodes.
The Archive is available for consultation and research, offering an invaluable collection of manuscript material, autographed letters, readers’ reports, catalogues, and publisher’s correspondence.
Material is of particular value for researchers in:
- British publishing history
- Late Victorian and Edwardian literature
- Literary modernism
The Archive is housed in the Library Archives & Records Centre in the Curzon Building, at the City Centre Campus.
Material Access
To view material, please make an appointment by emailing RecordsManagement@bcu.ac.uk or calling +44 (0)121 331 7636
The originals of the archive are in the possession of the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas and no copying of the material is permitted. To obtain copies or publish excerpts, researchers must seek permission from the Librarian of the Ransom Center.