Scope and Contents
The Louis Golding Papers contain manuscripts, notes, correspondence, and other papers pertaining to the five volume series Tales of the Silver Sisters. The papers span the years 1911 to 1953, but the bulk of them cover the years 1932-1952, the period in which he wrote the Doomington Saga.
Golding's manuscripts are arranged in publication order, with notes and other related material accompanying each novel: Five Silver Daughters (1934), Mr. Emmanuel (1939), The Glory of Elsie Silver (1945), The Dangerous Places (1951), To the Quayside (1953). The collection contains a holograph manuscript of each book except Mr. Emmanuel. There are research notes, outlines, preliminary drafts, or publicity material for all of the novels except The Glory of Elsie Silver . These papers document Golding's method of conception and the reception of his published works.
The research material for Five Silver Daughters is organized by subjects reflecting the themes of the novel. Information on post-World War I Russia includes the memoirs of a German soldier who was captured by the Russians but escaped in the chaos of the Revolution. Notes on the British cloth trade, post-World War I world economy, and high finance fraud relate to the business aspects of the plot. Two short stories represent an early form of the novel's subject matter.
A September 1933 issue of Der Stürmer (Box 6, folder 72) is a background item for Mr. Emmanuel . Documentation on the reception of the book includes letters from friends and colleagues congratulating Golding, commenting on the book, or thanking him for presentation copies. There is some business correspondence with agents and one letter of complaint from a bookseller about a Foyle's Book Club edition. Material about the film version of Mr. Emmanuel (1944) includes a pamphlet advertising the movie and a series of stills arranged by numbers, probably provided by Golding.
The research material for The Dangerous Places includes firsthand accounts of Eastern European Jews who survived the destruction of the ghettos. Various preliminary drafts precede the final version.
To the Quayside , the final novel, has little accompanying material, aside from preliminary notes showing the development of the book. A handwritten piece called "Goodbye to Elsie Silver," Golding's overview of the series, can be found with publicity material.
The Louis Golding Papers document the creation of the Doomington Saga and contain important information on modern Jewish history.
Dates
- 1911-1953
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Box 7: Restricted fragile material. Reference surrogates have been substituted in the main files. For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Conditions Governing Use
The Louis Golding Papers are the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Philip Neufeld, 1984.
Extent
2.25 Linear Feet (7 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The papers contain manuscripts, notes, correspondence, and other papers pertaining to the five-volume series Tales of the Silver Sisters.
LOUIS GOLDING (1895-1958)
Louis Golding was one of the most successful Anglo-Jewish authors of post-World War I England. He was born in Manchester of Jewish parents who had recently emigrated from Cherkasy, in Ukraine. After graduating from Manchester Grammar School, Golding won a scholarship to Queen's College, Oxford. His education was interrupted by World War I, but he later returned to college and began writing. Golding spent the next years of his life traveling extensively in the Mediterranean and Near East.
Golding is probably best known for his novels Magnolia Street (1932) and the five-volume series Tales of the Silver Sisters, also know as the Doomington Saga, novels that examine twentieth-century Jewish life in Western Europe. Golding's nonfiction works include The Jewish Problem (1938), Hitler Through the Ages (1939), travel books, and a study of James Joyce. He co-authored the dramatization of Magnolia Street performed in 1934. In 1944, Mr. Emmanuel, one of the Doomington novels, was made into a film. Although Golding never produced an autobiography, he wrote about his own life in his commentary on current events The World I Knew (1940).
Golding married Anne Wintrobe in 1956, two years before his death.
- Title
- Guide to the Louis Golding Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Susie R. Bock
- Date
- February 1987
- Description rules
- Beinecke Manuscript Unit Archival Processing Manual
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
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