Letters to Phyllis Playter from various members of the Powys family, including John Cowper Powys's siblings, Littleton Charles Powys, William Ernest (Willie) Powys, Philippa (Katie) Powys and Lucy Penny, and his son, Littleton Alfred Powys.
Literary papers of John Cowper Powys which include manuscript drafts and typescript copies of prose fiction, poetry and lecture notes. Some of the material comprises juvenilia composed while Powys was a pupil at Sherborne Preparatory School.
Miscellaneous items of or relating to John Cowper Powys, including a diary and address book, an United States immigration visa (1924), and details of honours conferred upon him.
Manuscript fragments from John Cowper Powys's novel Wolf Solent (1929), including discarded drafts of passages from Chapter 1 and a list of characters (f. 1); together with heavily worked drafts of the two poems attributed to the character Jason Otter, namely 'The Slow Worm of Lenty' (Chapter 12 (ff. 2-3)), and 'The Owl and Silence' (Chapter 19 (ff. 4-8)).
Letters from John Cowper Powys to various friends and acquaintances, including Gamel Woolsey and George Sims, together with a number of envelopes addressed mainly to Gilbert Turner, with others to C. Benson Roberts and Susanne Lane, from John Cowper Powys, the contents of the envelopes having been removed.
Envelopes addressed to the librarian Gilbert Turner, C. Benson Roberts and Susanne Lane from John Cowper Powys, the contents of the envelopes having been removed. These items were purchased with the letters contained in NLW MSS 23493-23498E, 23499D and should be considered as part of that collection.
Letters, 1936-1963, to John Cowper Powys from various publishers and literary agents. The correspondents include Laurence Pollinger Ltd (22), 1936-1954, 1957, Simon and Schuster (11), 1937-1947, and Keidrych Rhys (1), 1944. Enclosures comprise typescript copies of letters to Laurence Pollinger Ltd from John Lane The Bodley Head Ltd and Jonathan Cape Ltd and a printed copy of Wales (March 1944).
Twenty-eight letters, 1924-1925, to John Cowper Powys from his son Littleton Alfred Powys, containing mainly personal news and also Littleton Alfred's response to John Cowper Powys's novel Ducdame (published 1925). One letter contains a poem by Littleton Alfred (f. 49 verso), another a small ink drawing by him (f. 77). There is also one postcard, 1925, from Littleton Alfred to his mother, Margaret Alice Powys.
Nineteen letters, 1926-1929, to John Cowper Powys from his son Littleton Alfred Powys, and three postcards, 1926-1927 and undated, from Littleton Alfred to his mother, Margaret Alice Powys, containing mostly personal news.
Twenty letters and one postcard, 1930-1934, to John Cowper Powys from his son Littleton Alfred Powys, containing mainly personal news, one letter illustrated with an ink drawing by Littleton Alfred (f. 11 verso).
Sixteen letters, three postcards and one telegram, 1935-1939, to John Cowper Powys from his son Littleton Alfred Powys, containing mainly personal news. One of the postcards (f. 47) shows Littleton Alfred with his company following his call-up as army chaplain.
Twenty-two letters, 1940, to John Cowper Powys from his son Littleton Alfred Powys, consisting mainly of personal news, including Littleton Alfred's decision to become a Roman Catholic and accounts of his subsequent training for the priesthood; together with one letter to John Cowper Powys from the War Office reporting Littleton Alfred missing in action. A small ink drawing by Littleton Alfred (f. 4 verso) illustrates one letter.
Thirty letters and four postcards, 1941, to John Cowper Powys from his son Littleton Alfred Powys, containing mainly personal news of life at the Pontifical Beda College, where he was studying for the priesthood. There are ink drawings by Littleton Alfred on ff. 79 and 83.
Twenty letters and ten postcards, 1942, to John Cowper Powys from his son Littleton Alfred Powys, mainly containing personal news of life at the Pontifical Beda College, where he was studying for the priesthood, with some reflections upon Catholic doctrine, and line drawings by Littleton Alfred on ff. 3 verso and 47 verso.
