Barrymore, Blanche Marie Louise (nee Oelrichs)
Pseudonym Michael Strange. 1 file of letters dated c 1924-c 1932.
Finding number: OMN/A/2/12
Butler, Eleanor (see also Ponsonby, Sarah)
Known popularly as ‘The Ladies of Llangollen’
Letters from Lady Eleanor Butler written from Llangollen Vale, 1811-1813
Finding numbers: JER/595, JER/677, and JER/682
Calthrop, Gladys
Gladys Calthrop’s costume drawings for the production of 'Conversation Piece' by Noël Coward, 1934 (Finding number: MS492). There are also numerous entries for Calthrop in the Noel Coward archive (COW), and in the theatre collection (MS38)
Carpenter, Edward
Letters from Edward Carpenter to Helen and Granville Bantock, 1917-1918. Finding numbers: LAdd/3289-3300. Two of these letters (LAdd/3297 and LAdd/3298) mention Carpenter’s partner, George Merrill. Also a letter from Granville Bantock mentioning a visit by Carpenter, 1919. MS140/2 (item 65).
Coward, Noël
Noël Coward had ‘impeccable dignity in his sexual life, which was reticent but untainted by pretence’ (Rebecca West in Barry Day’s ‘The Letters of Noël Coward’). Coward’s short play Still Life (1935), which later became the film Brief Encounter (1945), is seen to reflect Coward’s experience of being gay in this time. It conveys the experience of denied feelings and socially imposed shame through an affair between Laura and Alec, who are both married to other people. Later, when Coward’s sexuality was publically acknowledged, his work was used in theatrical galas and music albums to raise money for Aids related charities such as ‘London Lighthouse’ and the ‘Red Hot Aids Charitable Trust’.
We also have material in the Noël Coward archive related to people who were known to be gay/bisexual, for example Sir John Gielgud; Compton Mackenzie; John Addington Symonds; and L. P. Hartley.
Noël Coward archive: Finding number: COW
Ellis, Havelock
Francois Lafitte was Havelock Ellis’s literary executor. There are some of Ellis’s papers in Lafitte’s deposited archive.
Finding number: US72 (boxes 45 and 46).
Harris, Walter Burton
European travel journal, with drawings, of Walter Burton Harris, an English adventurer in the late 19th century. Harris’ marriage to Lady Mary Saville was annulled due to his homosexuality.
Finding number: MS161
Housman, Laurence
Newscuttings relating to Housman’s plays Prunella (MS38/1063), Victoria Regina (MS38/2568), The Family Honour (MS38/3482) and Mr Gladstone’s Comforter (MS38/4167). There are also two letters (LAdd/1826 and LAdd/6401) and numerous books by Housman, whose output includes plays, novels, poetry, and political pamphlets, as well as book illustrations. Housman co-founded the British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology with Edward Carpenter and was a member of the secret homosexual organisation the Order of Chaeronea.
Kerensky, Oleg
Papers dated 1959-1993 of Oleg Kerensky, ballet critic, arts journalist and broadcaster. Including scrapbooks of ballet and theatre productions, reviews for ‘Gay News’ and other publications (MS126/5/1/4-7).
Finding number: MS126
Nicolson, Harold
Papers related to Nicolson’s political career. Numerous entries can be found in the Oswald Mosley archive (finding number: OMD), and the Neville Chamberlain archive (finding number: NC). In a rare personal letter OMD/1/1/2 item 8, Nicolson mentions his wife, Vita Sackville-West, and his feelings about Oswald Mosley.
Ponsonby, Sarah (see also Butler, Eleanor)
Known popularly as ‘The Ladies of Llangollen’
Note from Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby [of Llangollen] concerning payment for books to Lackington, Allen & Co., written by Sarah Ponsonby, 1812.
Finding number: BU/5
Radclyffe Hall, Marguerite
Typescript copies of love letters and telegrams written by Radclyffe Hall to Evguenia Souline, a Russian emigre nurse with whom she embarked on a passionate affair. The letters cover the years 1934, when Hall met Souline, to 1937 but the affair lasted almost until Hall's death in 1943. Hall wrote to Souline almost daily, always ending 'Your John'. Hall’s letters detail her obsession with her lover and reveal the emotional impact this relationship had on her life partner, Una Troubridge.
Finding number: MS676
Reed, Henry
Papers of the poet and literary critic Henry Reed. Includes a number of letters between Reed and his partner, Michael Ramsbotham. Written during the 1940s when homosexuality was illegal, these are important surviving examples of letters between two men. However, the letters largely relate to their literary work and are not overtly about their personal relationship.
Finding number: MS314
Telfer, William Prince
His diaries, 1911-1916, form a rich source for research into the impact of the social and moral 'purity' movement in the early twentieth century, and for the study of sexual attitudes and identity.
Finding number: MS202
Williams, Emlyn
Welsh dramatist and actor. He wrote frankly of his homosexual experiences, and was publicly out as bisexual. We hold a file of papers on his play ‘He Was Born Gay’, 1937.
Finding Number: MS38/2426