urn:taro:utexas.hrc.00167 Brian Moore: A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center Liz Murray University of Texas at Austin 2001 Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, April 2001. Finding aid written in English. Tue Jul 22 15:09:25 CDT 2003 urn:taro:utexas.hrc.00167 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (20030505). Descriptive Summary Moore, Brian, 1921-1999 Brian Moore Papers 1935-1998 35 boxes, 2 galleys (14.7 linear feet) The collection consists of typescript drafts, proofs, and contracts for many novels published since 1962. Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin English. Scope and Contents

Although Irish-born Canadian novelist Brian Moore lived in California for more than thirty years, he considered himself a Canadian writer and retained his Canadian citizenship. Because his formative years in Northern Ireland had a profound effect on him, many of Moore's works center on Catholicism and Irish themes. The Ransom Center's collection of Moore papers consists of typescript drafts, proofs, and contracts for many of his novels published since 1962 including An Answer from Limbo, Black Robe, Cold Heaven, The Color of Blood, The Doctor's Wife, The Great Victorian Collection, Lies of Silence, The Magician's Wife, The Mangan Inheritance, No Other Life, and The Statement. A brief stay in California in 1965 to write the script for Alfred Hitchcock's Torn Curtain led to permanent residence in Malibu where Moore wrote additional screenplays as well as novels. Screenplays well-represented in this collection are Black Robe, filmed in 1991, Control, Gabrielle Chanel, and Strangers. Moore also wrote articles for newspapers and magazines including Travel and Leisure, House and Garden, and The New York Times among others, as well as book reviews. These are included, as are texts of various talks, readings, and lectures given in academic and literary settings.

Moore's correspondence spans nearly forty years from 1959-1998, particularly the 1980s and 1990s. Some outgoing correspondence is present, but primarily the collection consists of incoming letters from publishers, editors, agents, fans, critics, friends, other writers, movie directors, and actors. This portion of the collection was poorly organized when received, with only a few packets labeled by year which provided evidence of Moore's original order. To preserve that order and facilitate use, the remaining correspondence has also been arranged by year.

Unique to the Ransom Center's collection is a complete set of diaries from 1957-1992 listing Moore's notes to himself, work logs, summaries of correspondence and telephone calls, possible book titles, details of book contracts and royalties, and appointments. The collection also includes personal papers regarding education and employment from 1943-1960 and photographs. Career-related material is represented by awards, contracts, interviews, and participation in public events.

The collection is organized into four series: Series I. Works, with subseries A. Novels, B. Plays, Screenplays, and Adaptations, and C. Other Writings; Series II. Correspondence; Series III. Diaries; and Series IV. Career-Related and Personal. Two books received with the manuscript material have been transferred to the Ransom Center Library. The collection is in good physical condition and is open for research.

This collection was acquired by the Ransom Center through the dealer Ralph Sipper after Moore's death in January 1999. Moore's papers were organized by the dealer prior to sale and bear both Moore's and the dealer's identifications. These have been relied upon in the arrangement and description of the collection. Additional Moore collection material is held in the Special Collections Library of the University of Calgary.

 Acquisition

Purchase, 2000 (Reg. no. 14701)

 Access

Open for research

 Processed by

Liz Murray, 2001

 Brian Moore Papers--Folder List Series I. Works Subseries A. Novels 1 1-2 An Answer from Limbo, carbon typescript 1 Black Robe 1 3 Corrected photocopy 1 4 Setting copy (Dutton, 1985) 2 1 Cold Heaven, corrected photocopy 2 The Color of Blood 2 2 Research material and notes 2 3 Original typescript to p. 128, heavily corrected 2 4 Rejected pages for first draft 2 5 Part II, corrected typescript 2 6 Photocopy of original typescript to p.260 with additional corrections 3 1 Photocopy, cont'd 3 2 Final draft sent to typist, October 1986 3 3-4 Final typescript, original copy 3 5 Final typescript, photocopy 4 1 Correspondence and contracts, 1986-1993 4 The Doctor's Wife 4 2 Sheet used to try out titles, February 1976 4 3-4 Final edited typescript 4 5-6 Setting copy (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1976) 5 1 Proofs, June 8, 1976 5 2 Proofs, June 21, 1976 5 3-6 Ganae, various drafts The Great Victorian Collection 6 1 Uncorrected typescript, photocopy 6 Galleys [removed to galley files] 6 Lies of Silence 6 2 Uncorrected typescript, photocopy 6 3 Correspondence and contracts, 1989-1994 6 The Magician's Wife 6 4 Uncorrected typescript 7 1-2 Typesetter's copy 7 3 Correspondence, 1997-1998 7 4-5 The Mangan Inheritance, corrected typescript, October 10, 1977 7 No Other Life 7 6 Corrected typescript 8 1 Corrected typescript, January 1992 8 2-3 Second last draft before N. Scotia final draft 8 4-5 Uncorrected typescript 8 6 Typeset copy with correspondence, 1992 9 1-2 Correspondence 9 The Statement 9 3-4 First draft, August 19, 1994-March 25, 1998 9 5-6 First draft of first part 9 7 Setting copy (Dutton, 1996) 10 1 Setting copy, cont'd 10 2 Correspondence, 1995-1997 10 3 Publicity and articles 10 4 Untitled novel with character Nora O'Neill 10 Subseries B. Plays, Screenplays, and Adaptations 10 5 The Apartment Hunter, screenplay by Jack Weinstein and Robert Resnikoff adapted from BM's short story 10 Black Robe, screenplay 10 6 Film notes 10 7 Original first draft, July 13, 1985 11 1 Draft, July 15, 1985 11 2 Third draft, October 1985 11 3 Feature version, February 1986 11 4 Feature version, second draft, April 4, 1986 11 5-6 Drafts, December 1986 11 7 Sixth draft, January 1987 12 1 Sixth draft, January 1987, (revised) 12 2 Draft, April 1987 12 3 Draft, August 23, 1990 12 4 Draft, nd 12 5 Draft segments used for cut and paste editing 12 6 Preliminary press package, draft, Oct. 18, 1990 12 7 French translation 13 1 Black Robe, TV script with paddlers scene missing, second draft, September 1985 13 Catholics, play 13 2 Script, heavily revised 13 3 Script, revised November 1, 1981 13 4 The Closing Ritual, photocopy playscript with notes and correspondence, March 1979 13 5 The Color of Blood, screenplay, first rough draft, April 1988 13 Control 13 6 Comments 13 7 Notes 13 8 Draft, April 2, 1986 14 1 Second rewrite, June 1986 14 2 Third rewrite, July 15, 1986 14 3 Draft, Sept. 25, 1986 14 4 Final edited version, October 1986 14 Gabrielle Chanel, screenplay 14 5 Photocopy of Chanel by Edmonde Charles-Roux from which adaptation was made 14 6 First draft, BM's copy 15 1 First draft, associated material 15 2 Second draft, BM's copy 15 3 Second draft with notes 15 4-5 Third draft, February 1988 15 6 Fourth draft, March 1, 1988 16 1 Fourth draft, revised 16 2 First French version 16 3 French version, draft segments 16 4-5 Pages from several drafts 16 Interview, screenplay 16 6 Draft, first version 17 1 Draft, nd 17 2-3 Drafts, revised January 1985 17 4 Eye of the Spider, first draft revised January 7, 1987 17 5 A Moment of Love, screenplay by Derek Mahon based on BM's The Feast of Lupercal, March 1984 17 No Other Life 17 6 Screenplay, first draft, January 14, 1994 17 7 Film collaboration with Constantin Costa Gavras, 1994-1995 17 8 Film proposal for documentary on BM 17 9 Old Money, screen treatment, Jane Fonda project, 1985 The Sight, screenplay 18 1 First draft 18 2 Drafts, with contract and correspondence 18 3 Mankiewicz's notes 18 4 The Slave, uncorrected photocopy screenplay, from novel by Isaac B. Singer 18 Strangers, screenplay 18 5 Edited typescript photocopy of novel by Rosie Thomas 18 6 First draft 18 7 Draft, with corrections 19 1-2 Drafts, December 1986 19 3 Revision, December 15, 1986 19 4 Revision, January 1986 [also marked 1987] 19 5 Draft, April 1987 19 6 Revision, May 1987 19 7 Uncle T, screenplay by Gerald Wexler based on short story by BM, with Moore's corrections 19 8 Untitled screenplay based on BM's novel The Great Victorian Collection, with corrections 20 1 Untitled, unfilmed screenplay by Brian Friel based on BM's The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne with Moore's notes 20 2 Untitled film script based on BM's novel The Revolution Script, revised second draft, July 1972 20 Subseries C. Other Writings 20 Articles and contributions 20 3 Notebook containing early article drafts plus original holograph draft of story which became Judith Hearne, ca. 1946 20 4 Roman Holiday, ca. 1946 20 5 A Drive up Highway 1, Travel and Leisure, drafts, correspondence, and associated material, December 1984 20 6 County Cork, Travel and Leisure, July 1985 20 7 Point Zero, House and Garden, 1985 20 8 Ventana wilderness article, July 1986 20 9 The Sophisticated Traveller, The New York Times, October 1987 20 10 Piece on Donegal for 32 Counties, a collection of photographs by Donovan Wylie, December 1988 20 11 Piece for the Adam International Review, Nov. 1989 (written while in Dublin hospital in August 1977) 20 12 A vocation, short story contribution for the Verbal Arts Centre project, 1998 20 13 Piece for Montreal Magazine about BM's arrival in Canada, nd. 20 14-16 Book reviews Notes 21 1 For play, Maam Cross 21 2 On A Mother from Dubliners 21 3 Touvier 21 4 On trip to Ireland, nd (holograph notebook) 21 5 Reading from The Magician's Wife 21 6 Speeches 21 7 Stories, unpublished: A Bed in America later used in Hitchcock film Torn Curtain, and A Matter of Faith 21 Talks 21 8 At University of Michigan, nd. 21 9 Imagination and Experience, draft for Edinburgh Book Festival, 1991, and published as a chapbook of the Harbourfront Reading Series, Toronto, 1997 21 10 The Writer as Exile, with notes and fragments, with The Novelists Voice 21 11 On subject of becoming a writer 21 12 Unidentified fragments and notes Series II. Correspondence, 1959-1998 21 13 File of notable literary correspondents [compiled by dealer?] 21 14 1959-1979 22 1 1980-1984 22 2-3 1985 22 4-5 1986 23 1-2 1987 23 3-5 1988 24 1 1989 24 2-3 1990 24 4-5 1991 25 1 1991 cont'd 25 2-3 1992 25 4 1993 25 5 1994 25 6 1995-1998 Series III. Diaries, 1957-1992 26 1-5 1957-1961 27 1-5 1962-1966 28 1-5 1967-1971 29 1-5 1972-1976 30 1-4 1977-1980 31 1-4 1981-1984 32 1-4 1985-1988 33 1-4 1989-1992 Series IV. Career-Related and Personal 34 1 Holograph Commonplace Album with calligraphed notation of aphorisms and quotations from celebrated authors 34 2 Awards and grants, including first prize in verse speaking (1935) and best screenplay for Black Robe in 1991 and 1992 34 3 Collection contents written in brief form on paper bag 34 4-6 Contracts, various titles 34 7 Contracts, Cold Heaven 34 8 Contracts, Cold Heaven, Marshall Productions, 1984-1989 34 9 Instructional material for readings course on BM, Joan Lingard, and Seamus Heaney 35 1 Interviews 35 2 Minutes of the Tenth General Assembly of Aosdána on April 20, 1989 35 3 Personal papers, regarding education and employment, 1943-1960 35 4 Photographs 35 5 Public events, 1997-1999 35 6 Travel receipts for trip to Ireland, September 1985