urn:taro:utexas.hrc.00224 Norma Patterson: A Preliminary Inventory of Her Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center Text converted by SPI Content Sciences Inc., July 2003. Finding aid written in English. Norma Patterson Papers 1915-1967, bulk 1933-1952 11 boxes (4.62 linear feet) Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin Patterson, Norma The collection includes Patterson's novels, published and unpublished short stories, correspondence with agents, editors, and publishers, scrapbooks, handwritten notebooks, and talks before a variety of audiences. Acquisition:

Purchase (Reg. no. 4131 and 4709)

 Access:

Open for research

 Processed by:

Isabel Morales, 2002

 Scope and Contents

The papers of Texas author Norma Patterson span a writing career of six decades and include her best selling romance novels published in the United States and Britain, as well as short stories published in newspapers and magazines worldwide. Patterson's novels are present, as are published and unpublished short stories, correspondence, scrapbooks, and talks before a variety of audiences.

The collection is organized in three series: Series I. Works, Series II. Correspondence, and Series II. Career-Related.

The works in Series I. are arranged in four subseries: A. Novels, B. Short Stories, C. Other Writings, and D. Unpublished Works. Both handwritten notes and typescripts are present for the novels, published in the 1930s and 1940s, some serialized in magazines. Patterson's numerous short stories appeared in magazines and newspapers published in the United States, and also England, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. She was frequently published in McCall's, Today's Housewife, Good Housekeeping, People's Home Journal and Britain's Woman's Journal. Beginning as early as the 1910s, her stories continued to be published into the 1960s. Patterson's other writings in Subseries C include a series of letters published during the war for London's Woman's Journal. Other journalism, including editorials and essays, is also present. Unpublished works in Subseries D include handwritten notebooks, a novel, and short stories.

Series II consists primarily of correspondence with agents, editors, and publishers regarding her novels and short stories. Also present are inquiries from motion picture companies expressing interest in film versions of her novels. Correspondents include W. F. Bigelow, John Farrar, Margaret Foley, Frankie McKee, Nancy Pearn, George Sessions Perry, Laurence Pollinger, Murray Pollinger, Stanley Rinehart, Constance Smith, and Rowe Wright.

The career-related material in Series III contains a small amount of biographical material for dust jacket copy, scrapbooks of publicity and reviews, and talks to student and women's club groups, as well as radio interviews.

The papers contain brittle material that should be handled with care. Otherwise, the collection is in good condition and is open for research. Copies of Patterson's novels received with the papers have been transferred to the HRC Library.

 Norma Patterson Papers--Folder List I. Works A. Novels, 1932-1944 1 1-2 Handwritten notebooks Drums of the Night (1935) 1 3 Handwritten notebooks and fragments 1 4-5 Carbon typescript The Gay Procession 1 6 Handwritten notebooks 1 7-8 Typescript Give Them Their Dream (1938) 2 1 Handwritten notebooks 2 2-3 Typescript Love Is Forever (1941) 2 4 Handwritten notebooks and draft fragments 2 5-6 Carbon typescript The Man I Love (1940) 2 7 Handwritten notebooks 2 8 Carbon typescript 3 1 Carbon typescript, cont'd 3 2 Associated material 3 3 Photographs Out of the Ground , with Crate Dalton (1937) 3 4-5 Carbon typescript 3 6 Letters from agent re editing The Sun Shines Bright (1932) 3 7 Handwritten notes, 1st draft 3 8-9 Carbon typescript Three to Make Ready (1944) 3 10 Handwritten notebooks 4 1 Handwritten notes and typed draft fragments 4 2-3 Carbon typescript Try and Hold Me (1937) 4 4 Handwritten notebooks 4 5-6 Carbon typescript West of the Weather (1941) 4 7 Handwritten notebooks and typed drafts 4 8-9 Carbon typescript When the Lights Go Up Again (1943) 4 10 Notes and draft fragments 4 11-12 Typescript B. Short Stories, 1916-1967 5 1-2 Handwritten notebooks 5 3 Altar Fires, 1925 5 3 And Forsaking All Others, 1932 5 3 And Some in Velvet Gowns, 1926 5 3 At the Crossing, 1924 5 3 Back up for Redheads, 1940 5 3 The Bad Old Man, 1923 5 3 The Boy Who Decided to Run Away, 1960 5 3 The Broken Sword, 1924 5 3 Calamity Camps, 1933 5 3 Candle Lighter, 1924 5 3 Challenge, 1924 5 4 Country Girl or Square Dance, 1952; 1967 5 4 The Dark Tide; Jenny series 5 4 The Dear Little House, 1920 5 4 Don't You Remember, 1956-57 5 4 Engagement With Life, 1933 5 4 Evidence of Things Not Seen, 1931 5 4 Flight, 1928 5 5 For Girls It's Different (Daredevil), 1953 5 5 Gang's All Here, 1955 5 5 Ghosts, 1928 5 5 The Girl on the Beach, 1955 5 5 Glorious Dust, 1928 5 5 The Golden Image, 1931 5 5 The Good Ship, 1956; 1959 6 1 The Greatest Thing in Life, 1926 6 1 Grudge House, 1924 6 1 His Brother's Keeper, 1923 6 1 Hitched to a Star, 1921 6 1 Home Sweet Home, 1917 6 1 Home Tonight, 1926 6 1 Honor of Your Presence (Odd Man Out), 1966 6 1 House in the Forest, 1928 6 1 A House without Trimmings, 1916 6 1 Hunger, 1924 6 1 I Knew You'd Find Me, 1943 6 1 I Will Never Forget You, 1926 6 2 It Is to Laugh, 1934 6 2 Jane, M.D., 1916 6 2 The Jumping Jack Queen, 1916 6 2 Kings, 1928 6 2 The Last Gift, 1961 6 2 The Lost Legion, 1929 6 2 The Lost Moment, 1958 6 2 Lucky Star, 1925 6 2 The Magic Friend, 1917 6 3 The Midnight Father, 1930 6 3 Needed--A Man, 1926 6 3 A Nickel's Worth of Courage, 1920 6 3 No Questions Asked, 1931 6 3 Open Doors, 1933 6 3 Other Captains, 1917 6 3 Path through a Wilderness, 1940 6 3 The Put Lady, 1917 6 3 Remember the Way It Was, 1946 6 3 The Shining Dress, 1933 6 3 Ships that Pass, 1927 6 3 Shut-Eye, Open-Eye, 1931 6 4 The Silver Cloud, 1959 6 4 Softly Speaks the Heart, 1961 6 4 Soldiers All, 1928 6 4 Song and Dance, 1928 6 4 Sons of Chance and Mischief, 1933 6 4 Starshine, 1961 6 4 Street Keeper, 1928 6 4 Sweetheart of '39, 1939 7 1 Through the Dark Valley, 1917 7 1 A Time to Forget, 1965 7 1 A Touch of Midas, 1932 7 1 Treasure, 1929 7 1 Tree of Justice, 1923 7 1 Two Against Defeat, 1933 7 1 Un Soldat, 1929 7 1 Unbleached Domestic, 1916 7 1 Unto Each His Crown, 1918 7 2 Utterly Useless Woman, 1934 7 2 A Voice Calling, 1928 7 2 West, 1929 7 2 What They Brought Out of France, 1919 7 2 When Barby Went to Bat, 1938 7 2 When Two of Three Shall Meet, 1944 7 2 The Whoffing Gods, 1929 7 2 With the Aid of Flowers, 1916 7 2 The Writings on the Gate, 1925 7 2 A Young Lochinvar, 1925 7 2 The Youngest Garden, 1928 C. Other Writings American letters to the Woman's Journal, London 7 3 Letters, 1942 7 4-5 Associated material 7 6 Editorials and essays D. Unpublished Works 7 7 Handwritten notebooks, various projects The Heart Will Count the Moments 7 8 Handwritten notebooks and research material 8 1 Drafts 1-3 Short Stories 8 2 B-H 8 3 J-S 8 4 T-W II. Correspondence Incoming 9 1 Ba--Smith, Angie 9 2 Smith, Constance--Wr Wright, Rowe 9 3 Undated-1941 9 4 1942-1949 9 5-6 Wright, Rowe and Margaret Foley 10 1 Outgoing Editors McCall's Magazine 10 2-3 Good Housekeeping and Woman's Journal Publishers 10 4-5 Curtis Brown and Pearn, Pollinger & Higham 10 6 Farrar & Rinehart Inc. III. Career-Related 11 1 Biographical Scrapbooks 11 2 Cleveland-- Give Them Their Dream 11 3 Jenny-- The Man I Love 11 4 Out of the Ground-- West of the Weather 11 5 Miscellaneous, Texas Women's Press Conference, Zeta Tau Alpha Province Convention 11 6 Talks