Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1908-2010 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.499 cubic metres (8 large boxes; 30 small boxes).
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Jan Morris, formerly James Morris, travel writer, historian and novelist, was born in Somerset in 1926 of Welsh and English parents. She spent ten years on the editorial staffs of The Times and The Guardian, and her books about places evolved from her travel experiences as a wartime soldier and as a foreign correspondent. Her published books, articles and essays include a historical trilogy about the British Empire, books concerning Wales, major studies of several cities around the world, books of collected travel essays, biographical works about Abraham Lincoln and Admiral Fisher, a novel, and several volumes of memoirs.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donated by Jan Morris, Llanystumdwy, Gwynedd, July 2002, January 2003 and April 2010; 0200300841.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Notes, drafts of published and unpublished works, letters, talks, reviews, booklets, leaflets, periodicals, press cuttings and other material relating to Jan Morris's writing career and the places she visited in the course of her research, together with personal letters and records.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
All papers donated to NLW have been retained.
Accruals
Accruals are possible.
System of arrangement
Arranged at NLW in four series: Notebooks and other research materials; Drafts of works; Printed material; and Personal papers.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Swedish
- Welsh
Script of material
Language and script notes
English, German, Italian, French, Welsh and Swedish.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A hard copy of the list covering the 2002 and 2003 Donations is available at NLW.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
Several of Jan Morris's published works were based on materials in the archive, including: Coast to coast (1956); Sultan in Oman (1957); The market of Seleukia (1957); Coronation Everest (1958); South African winter (1958); The Hashemite kings (1959); Venice (1960); Spain (1964); The presence of Spain (1964); Heaven's command: an imperial progress (1973); Pax Britannica: the climax of empire (London, 1968); Farewell the Trumpets: an imperial retreat (London, 1974); Conundrum (1974); Oxford (Oxford, 1978); The Venetian empire: a sea voyage (London, 1980); Stones of empire: buildings of the Raj (1983); The matter of Wales: epic views of a small country (1984); Last letters from Hav (1985); Sydney (1992); O Canada! (1992); and Trieste and the meaning of nowhere (2001).
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of fonds.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
GEAC system control number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Morris, Jan, 1926-2020 -- Archives (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
March 2003 and March 2015.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: e-mails from Jan Morris, September 2003 and April 2010; papers within the archive.
Archivist's note
Compiled by Rhiannon Michaelson-Yeates, with additions by David Moore.