Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of John Kelly, Accession #4151-a, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection was a gift of Mrs. John Kelly of New York City, on 30 October 1978.

Scope and Content Information

This addition to the papers of John Kelly is comprised chiefly of material relating to the writings of John Kelly which were in progress at the time of his death. The collection includes bibliographies, research notes, and typed drafts, as well as two scrapbooks and miscellaneous correspondence. Given the dearth of correspondence relating to Kelly's private or academic life, the collection reveals little personal information. Nevertheless, it does offer a clear picture of the various stages of a writer's work.

John Kelly had three works in progress at the time of his death in 1966, all in varying degrees of completion. His work on "Project Robespierre" includes a bibliography, research notes, and a typed draft of Part I of the project entiled "Robespierre and the Angel of Terror." This was to be a book about Robespierre and Saint Just in relation to the French Revolution. The other two works were fiction, tentatively titled "A Solar Boat in Dallas" and "A World Elsewhere" and were at a more advanced state of completion when Kelly died. Included here are typed and corrected drafts of each and a bound typed manuscript "A World Elsewhere."

The collection also includes two scrapbooks compiled by Kelly containing book reviews, newspaper clippings, and correspondence regarding his novels, All Souls' Night (1945), and Alexander's Feast (1948). Loose material removed from the scrapbooks is filed separately and includes such items as Kelly's resume, a photograph of John Kelly, and a number of sympathy letters to his wife, Betty Kelly. Also included is an article by Marcel Brion on Kelly's writing, translated from the French by Frederic Proulx, who taught romance languages at the University of Virginia from 1960 to 1963. All Souls' Night was translated from the French in 1951 by Jean Parot, and Brion wrote the preface to the edition.

The miscellaneous files complete the collection and include notes by the author on Marcel Proust and Thomas Moore, possibly background material for a lecture or article. The files also contain correspondence regarding the erection of a memorial to William Butler Yeats in Dublin--letters in this file establish Kelly as a great admirer of the Irish poet. The miscellaneous files also include a copy of the King's College Annual Report of the Council... which contains John Kelly's obituary and a description of his days at the College.

Organization

This collection is organized with the literary materials preceding the scrapbooks and miscellaneous files. Kelly's projects and literary works are arranged alphabetically according to their titles and the individual items according to their place in the development of the work from the early stages to the more complete. For example, "Project Robespierre" is organized with the bibliography filed first, followed by research notes and a typed draft of Part I.

Both scrapbooks were taken apart and their contents placed in folders which were arranged in alphabetical order according to the title of the novel which the scrapbook concerned. Loose materials removed from the scrapbook were filed immediately behind the folders containing the scrapbook material. The final section of miscellaneous papers is also arranged alphabetically by the topic of the file.