Personal correspondence, 1936-1995

Component identifier:

Series 1

Content Summary:

Correspondence with friends. Included are two substantial runs of letters. The first is letters of Judith Wright (1948-1961), in which Wright advises on or provides comments about aspects of Mitchell's writings. Her letters also refer to her own writings and her day-to-day life. The second group is the letters of Ethel Anderson (c.1941-c.1952), who was distantly related to Mitchell. In the earlier letters, Anderson provides feedback on a chapter-by-chapter basis of drafts of Mitchell's first book, Speak to the earth, which was published in 1945. It is clear from the letters that Anderson was very much a mentor to Mitchell. In her first three published books, Mitchell publicly acknowledges Anderson's help and encouragement with her writing.

There is a smaller group of letters from Government House, Melbourne, from the Governor, Lord Huntingfield, his daughter Sara, and members of his staff, thanking Mitchell for having them to stay at Towong Hill in 1936. Several black and white photographs are also included, together with a letter written later the same year by Sara's husband, David Peel

The series also includes a small group of drafts of letters written by Mitchell to others. They include an undated carbon typescript letter (19 pages) which appears to be written from Mitchell to her husband, Tom Mitchell, recounting a horse riding expedition in the Australian Alps with her sister Eve and a group of teenage girls. There is also a carbon copy of a long manuscript letter (22 pages) from Mitchell to a Dr Evans, dated 1947, which appears to be written in instalments during a trip she was undertaking.

Other correspondents include Henrietta Drake-Brockman (1948-1958), Charles Lane Poole (c.1942) and Austin Anderson, husband of Ethel (1942).

The letters of Judith Wright, Ethel Anderson and those from Government House were grouped separately by Mitchell, and this order has been retained. The remainder of the letters have been grouped and listed chronologically by the National Library.

22 files

Immediate source of acquisition:

The collection was acquired from the family of Elyne Mitchell in six instalments between 2002 and 2008, with the bulk of the material being purchased in 2007. The collection was originally comprised of two components. The first component was papers that were in Mitchell's possession at the time of her death in 2002, while the second component was papers that had been left by Mitchell in the care of her agent, Curtis Brown. These two components have been brought together to form the entirety of the Elyne Mitchell Papers.

Subjects:

Literature

Names:

Mitchell, Elyne

Contents

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