Inventory Acc.12342 Janet Adam Smith

80 Pages·2015·0.51 MB·English

Acc.12342
Revised August 2015

Inventory

Acc.12342

Janet Adam Smith

National Library of Scotland
Manuscripts Division
George IV Bridge
Edinburgh
EH1 1EW
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]

© National Library of Scotland
Papers, 1928-1999, of Janet Adam Smith (1905-1999), author, journalist and
mountaineer.

Janet Buchanan Adam Smith was born in Glasgow in 1905, the daughter of Sir
George and Lilian Adam Smith. She was educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College
and Somerville College Oxford. She then joined the BBC, becoming assistant editor
of The Listener in 1930.

In 1935 she married Michael Roberts (1902-1948), poet, teacher and mountaineer.
The family settled in London after the war, and after the death of her husband in
1948, Janet Adam Smith joined the staff of The New Statesman, becoming its
literary editor in 1952. In 1965 she married John Carleton (1908-1974), headmaster
of Westminster School.

As literary editor and critic she wrote on a wide range of literary and cultural topics,
and produced major editions and studies of Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James
and John Buchan. She also wrote about her own mountaineering activities and
those of the many climbers and mountaineers whom she knew.

Janet Adam Smith was a Trustee of the National Library of Scotland from 1950 to
1985. She was President of the Royal Literary Fund from 1976 to 1984. She
received an honorary Ll.D from the University of Aberdeen in 1962 and was
appointed OBE in 1982.

For further papers of Janet Adam Smith, see Acc.6301 and Acc.11164.

For the papers of Michael Roberts, the first husband of Janet Adam Smith, see
Acc.13145.

Bequeathed, 2004.

This collection has been arranged and described by Professor Andrew Roberts, son of Janet
Adam Smith. The papers are divided into the following sections:

1-31. Letters of individual correspondents, 1935-1999.

1-5. W.H. Auden.

6. Richard Cobb.

7. Kathleen Coburn.

8. Leon Edel.

9-12. T.S. Eliot.

13. Helen Gardner.

14. Robert Graves.
15. Graham Greene.

16-17. Rupert and June Hart-Davis.

18. Richard Holmes.

19. Margaret Lane.

20. William Plomer.

21-22. Kathleen Raine.

23. Herbert and Margaret („Ludo‟) Read.

24-25. Ivor A. and Dorothea Richards.

26. David Robertson.

27. Dame Felicitas Corrigan and Dame Frideswide Sandeman of
Stanbrook Abbey.

28. Freya Stark.

29. Allen Tate.

30. Janet Teissier du Cros.

31. Hugh Trevor-Roper.

32-110 Correspondence and related papers, arranged by subject, 1932-
1999.

32-33. Michael Roberts.

34. Charles Sorley.

35. Letters with reminiscences.

36. John Carleton.

37-38. Literary correspondence.

39. Poems of Tomorrow.

40-49. Mountain Holidays.

50. Life among the Scots.

51. Children’s Illustrated Books.
52. Translations.

53-54. Faber Books.

55. The Living Stream.

56-66. Walter Scott and other Scottish literary and cultural topics.

67-91. Robert Louis Stevenson.

92-110. John Buchan.

111-182 Typescripts of articles and talks, and printed items, 1928-2000.

111. Memorial addresses, 1976-1999.

112-121. Talks, 1943-1988.

122-126. Correspondence and papers concerning the BBC and The Listener,
1928-1933, 1969-199.

127. Letters concerning broadcasts from Edinburgh, 1931-1932, 1939,
1941.

128-141. Scripts of broadcasts, 1931-1982.

142-144. Teaching, 1961-1966.

145-146. Obituaries, 1950-2000.

147-150 Articles on various subjects, 1930-1945.

151. Unpublished articles, circa 1936, 1945.

152-166. Typescripts and correspondence concerning articles, 1950-1990.

167-168. Typescripts and correspondence concerning entries in the Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography, 1994-1995.

169-172. Reviews for the New York Review of Books, with related
correspondence.

173-179. Annotated copies of printed books.

180-182. Pamphlets, 1948, 2000.
183-203. Additional items, 1931-1994, 2005.

These items were added to the collection after the above arrangement had been
made.

183. Letters, 1934-1935, to Janet Adam Smith and Michael Roberts on their
engagement.

184-187. Correspondence concerning Michael Roberts.

188. Letters, 1982, concerning the award of the OBE.

189. Letters, 1931-1992.

190. Typescripts, 1947-1969, of unpublished reviews and articles.

191. Photocopies of published interviews with Janet Adam Smith.

192. 'Records of Earnings by Pen and Wits': two notebooks and manuscript
notes of income, 1933-1956.

193. List of letters to the press, and photocopies of contributions to books.

194-201. Cuttings and copies of articles, 1932-1994.

202. Bibliography of book reviews by Janet Adam Smith.

203. Janet Adam Smith. An Autobiography 1905-1926, edited by Andrew
Roberts (2005).

Detailed listing

1-31. Letters of individual correspondents, 1935-1999.

These files have been arranged alphabetically by surname of correspondent. Unless
otherwise stated, letters are to Janet Adam Smith. Many of the files contain copies
of letters of Janet Adam Smith.

1-5. Letters and other papers, 1956-1984, of and concerning W.H. Auden.
For a postcard, 3 February 1935, of W.H. Auden, see Acc.12342/183.

1. Six letters, circa 1957-1966, of W.H. Auden.

1957 or 1958.

21 April 1962.

25 June 1962.
[1962].

20 March 1966, with a programme for a performance of 'The Twelve'
by William Walton, on 10 March 1966, at the Sheldonian Theatre,
Oxford.

Copy of a letter, 7 January 1958, to Richard Hoggart.

2. New Statesman and Nation, special feature on W.H. Auden, 9 June
1956.

3. Papers concerning W.H. Auden, 1973-1989.

4. Letters, 1973-1997, of Edward Mendelson.

5. Papers concerning Auden manuscripts, 1960-1984.

6. Letters, 1988-1992, of Richard Cobb.

7. Letters, 1953-1991, of Kathleen Coburn and other correspondents.

8. Letters, 1962-1979, of Leon Edel.

For a further letter of Leon Edel, see Acc.12342/69.

Copy of letter, 6 November 1962, of Janet Adam Smith to Leon Edel.

11 November 1962.

14 January 1966.

15 December 1969.

Manuscript notes of Janet Adam Smith concerning Henry James.

26 April 1972.

Copy of letter, 5 August 1972, of Janet Adam Smith to Leon Edel.

28 October 1972.

15 January 1975.

28 April 1975.

Copy of letter, 9 May 1975 of Janet Adam Smith to E. Carpenter.

Letter, 19 May 1975, of E. Carpenter to Janet Adam Smith.

Copy of letter, 9 June 1975, of Janet Adam Smith to Leon Edel.
15 August 1975.

8 September 1975.

6 April 1976.

20 May 1976.

18 July 1976.

16 July 1978.

10 December 1979.

9-12 Letters, 1937-1963, of and concerning T.S. Eliot.

The photocopies of letters were supplied by Valerie Eliot in 1970.

For further letters of T.S. Eliot, see Acc.12342/184.

9. Letters, 1941-1952, of T.S. Eliot.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 28 January 1937.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 24 March 1937.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 1 June 1937.

3 January 1941.

13 February 1941.

5 September 1941.

28 September 1941.

13 October 1941.

20 October 1941.

26 December 1941.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 25 June 1942.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 16 July 1942.

Postcard, [1942].

17 August 1942.
18 December 1942.

[29 December] 1942.

17 March 1943.

20 December 1943.

[28 December] 1943.

10 June 1944.

[27 December] 1944.

26 March 1945.

9 April 1945.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 15 October 1945.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 19 November 1945.

15 December 1945.

16 January 1946.

19 March 1946.

12 April 1946.

[4 August] 1946.

12 August 1946.

8 November 1946.

21 December 1946.

23 December 1946.

20 February 1947.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 24 February 1947.

8 March 1947.

5 July 1947.

25 November 1947.
20 December 1947.

Postcard, 25 March 1948.

28 April 1948.

4 May 1948.

Manuscript note of addresses, 1948.

14 October 1948.

14 November 1948.

5 December 1948.

14 December 1948.

4 January 1949.

15 January 1949.

Note, [17 January] 1949.

Draft of letter, 23 February 1949, of Janet Adam Smith to T.S. Eliot.

6 March 1949.

10 March 1949.

17 March 1949.

Copy of letter, 8 April 1949, of Janet Adam Smith to T.S. Eliot.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 22 July 1949.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 8 August 1949.

26 September 1949.

18 December 1949.

27 December 1949.

18 February 1950.

Fragment of letter, 22 May 1950.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 22 May 1950.
Copy of letter, 1 August 1950, of Janet Adam Smith to T.S. Elliot.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 29 August 1950.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 7 September 1950.

17 December 1950.

13 March 1951.

20 May 1951.

7 June 1951.

Transcript of letter, 24 July 1951.

17 October 1951.

19 November 1951.

Postcard, 30 November 1951.

Postcard, ? 1951.

17 December 1951.

Printed extract of a letter, February 1947, of Michael Roberts to Helen
C. Sutherland.

22 December 1951.

25 February 1952.

Postcard, 9 April 1952.

28 April 1952.

24 June 1952.

Photocopy of copy of letter, 2 October 1952.

3 November 1952.

29 November 1952.

Postcard, 8 December 1952.

22 December 1952.