Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1937-1946 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
½ box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born in London, 1886; educated at St Albans School and University College, London; joined Oxford University Press as a reader, 1908; remained a member of staff (as a literary advisor) until his death, working mainly in London; published his first book of verse, 1912; a prolific author, he continued to write and lecture until his death, producing anthologies, prefaces, reviews, and over thirty volumes of poetry, plays, literary criticism, fiction, biography and theological argument; associates included C S Lewis, T S Eliot and Dorothy Sayers; member of the Church of England; increasingly devoted his writings, particularly his novels, Arthurian poems, and literary and theological commentaries, to doctrines of romantic love (believing that the romantic approach could reveal objective truth) and the coinherence of all humans; abandoned the traditional form of his early verse; in recognition of two courses of lectures in wartime Oxford, awarded an honorary MA (University of Oxford), 1943; died at Oxford, 1945. See also C S Lewis's preface to Essays presented to Charles Williams (Oxford University Press, London, 1947). Publications: Poetry: The Silver Stair (1912); Poems of Conformity (1917); Divorce (1920); Windows of Night (1925); A Myth of Shakespeare (1929); Heroes and Kings (1930); Three Plays (1931); Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury (the Canterbury Festival play, 1936); Taliessin through Logres (1938); Judgement at Chelmsford (1939); The Region of the Summer Stars (1944). Prose: as editor, A Book of Victorian Narrative Verse (1927); Poetry at Present (1930); War in Heaven (1930); Introduction to Gerard Hopkins's Poems (2nd edition, 1930); Many Dimensions (1931); The Place of the Lion (1931); The Greater Trumps (1932); The English Poetic Mind (1932); Shadows of Ecstasy (1933); Bacon (1933); Reason and Beauty in the Poetic Mind (1933); James I (1934); Rochester (1935); Elizabeth (1936); New Book of English Verse (1935); Descent into Hell (1937); Henry VII (1937); He came down from Heaven (1937); Descent of the Dove (1939); Witchcraft (1941); The Forgiveness of Sins (1942); The Figure of Beatrice (1943); as editor, The Letters of Evelyn Underhill (1943); All Hallows' Eve (1944).
Repository
Archival history
GB 0100 KCLCA Williams, C W S 1937-1946 Collection (fonds) ½ box Williams , Charles Walter Stansby , 1886-1945 , author and poet
Born in London, 1886; educated at St Albans School and University College, London; joined Oxford University Press as a reader, 1908; remained a member of staff (as a literary advisor) until his death, working mainly in London; published his first book of verse, 1912; a prolific author, he continued to write and lecture until his death, producing anthologies, prefaces, reviews, and over thirty volumes of poetry, plays, literary criticism, fiction, biography and theological argument; associates included C S Lewis, T S Eliot and Dorothy Sayers; member of the Church of England; increasingly devoted his writings, particularly his novels, Arthurian poems, and literary and theological commentaries, to doctrines of romantic love (believing that the romantic approach could reveal objective truth) and the coinherence of all humans; abandoned the traditional form of his early verse; in recognition of two courses of lectures in wartime Oxford, awarded an honorary MA (University of Oxford), 1943; died at Oxford, 1945. See also C S Lewis's preface to Essays presented to Charles Williams (Oxford University Press, London, 1947). Publications: Poetry: The Silver Stair (1912); Poems of Conformity (1917); Divorce (1920); Windows of Night (1925); A Myth of Shakespeare (1929); Heroes and Kings (1930); Three Plays (1931); Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury (the Canterbury Festival play, 1936); Taliessin through Logres (1938); Judgement at Chelmsford (1939); The Region of the Summer Stars (1944). Prose: as editor, A Book of Victorian Narrative Verse (1927); Poetry at Present (1930); War in Heaven (1930); Introduction to Gerard Hopkins's Poems (2nd edition, 1930); Many Dimensions (1931); The Place of the Lion (1931); The Greater Trumps (1932); The English Poetic Mind (1932); Shadows of Ecstasy (1933); Bacon (1933); Reason and Beauty in the Poetic Mind (1933); James I (1934); Rochester (1935); Elizabeth (1936); New Book of English Verse (1935); Descent into Hell (1937); Henry VII (1937); He came down from Heaven (1937); Descent of the Dove (1939); Witchcraft (1941); The Forgiveness of Sins (1942); The Figure of Beatrice (1943); as editor, The Letters of Evelyn Underhill (1943); All Hallows' Eve (1944).
The collection was received with printed material deposited in King's College Library by the Charles Williams Society in 1977.
Papers of and relating to Charles Walter Stansby Williams, 1937-1946 and undated, including corrected proof of The Region of Summer Stars; typescripts including 'Terror of Light', 'The Working of Porphyry', 'Taliessin in the Rose Garden', and 'Prologue' to a production of The Way of the Cross by Henry Gheon; memorabilia relating to Williams, including three photographs, and obituaries.
Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.
Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Director of Archive Services, King's College London.
English
This collection level description available online and in reading room at King's College London Archives.
King's College Library received c30 volumes on English literature on deposit from the Charles Williams Society in 1977. King's College London Archives, KAL/AD6/F82, documents the transfer and includes some biographical information on Williams.
Oxford University, Bodleian Library, Department of Western Manuscripts, holds literary papers and letters, 1938-1945 (Refs: Charles Williams papers; MS Eng poet d 187, f 40; MS Eng lett c 433, ff 83-5); two letters from Williams to Walter de la Mare, 1938 (in Walter de la Mare papers); correspondence with R B Montgomery and miscellaneous papers, 1942-1944 (Ref: MS Eng c 3858); letters and poems to Ann Renwick, 1939-1944 (Ref: MS Eng lett d 452); 64 letters to Thelma and Bertram Shuttleworth, 1929-1945 (Ref: MS Eng lett e 136); letter from Williams to Robert Bridges, 1930 (Ref: Dep Bridges 13, f 92). Lambeth Palace Library, London, holds two letters from Williams to G K A Bell, 1932 (Ref: Bell Papers (Religious Drama), volume III). University of Reading Library holds a letter from Williams to Macmillan and Co Ltd, 1934 (in MS1089) and four letters from Williams to R L Megroz, 1935-1940 (in MS1979/97 & 113/1). Cambridge University Library holds two letters between Williams and Francis Meynell, 1934 (in Meynell XX). Leeds, Brotherton Library, Brotherton Collection, holds a sonnet, 'Infinite mountains of the interior mind' (in Wilfrid Wilson Gibson Collection), three letters from Williams to Will Foster, 1936 (in Will Foster Correspondence) and letter of condolence from Williams on the death of Lascelles Abercrombie, 1938. University of Kent at Canterbury Library holds a letter from Williams to Hewlett Johnson, 1936 (Ref: HJ06463). Oxford University Press, Oxford, holds letters from A E Housman to Williams (three items), 1929-1930 (published in The letters of A E Housman, 1971). BBC Written Archives Centre, Reading, holds correspondence between Williams and members of staff at the BBC, 1937-1942 (Ref: Radio contributors. Scriptwriters, file 1). Harvard University, Houghton Library, holds 21 letters to Theodora Bosanquet and literary manuscripts, 1940-1945 (Ref: b MS Eng 1213).
Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project. Sources: brief description in King's College London Manuscripts and Private Papers: A Select Guide (1982); Dictionary of National Biography; Who's Who; Location register of twentieth-century English literary manuscripts (1988); National Register of Archives; King's College London Archives, KAL/AD6/F82. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Jan 2001 Gheon , Henri , 1875-1944 , author Literary forms and genres Literature Photographs Poetry Visual materials Williams , Charles Walter Stansby , 1886-1945 , author and poet
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
The collection was received with printed material deposited in King's College Library by the Charles Williams Society in 1977.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers of and relating to Charles Walter Stansby Williams, 1937-1946 and undated, including corrected proof of The Region of Summer Stars; typescripts including 'Terror of Light', 'The Working of Porphyry', 'Taliessin in the Rose Garden', and 'Prologue' to a production of The Way of the Cross by Henry Gheon; memorabilia relating to Williams, including three photographs, and obituaries.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Director of Archive Services, King's College London.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
King's College Library received c30 volumes on English literature on deposit from the Charles Williams Society in 1977. King's College London Archives, KAL/AD6/F82, documents the transfer and includes some biographical information on Williams.
Finding aids
This collection level description available online and in reading room at King's College London Archives.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Oxford University, Bodleian Library, Department of Western Manuscripts, holds literary papers and letters, 1938-1945 (Refs: Charles Williams papers; MS Eng poet d 187, f 40; MS Eng lett c 433, ff 83-5); two letters from Williams to Walter de la Mare, 1938 (in Walter de la Mare papers); correspondence with R B Montgomery and miscellaneous papers, 1942-1944 (Ref: MS Eng c 3858); letters and poems to Ann Renwick, 1939-1944 (Ref: MS Eng lett d 452); 64 letters to Thelma and Bertram Shuttleworth, 1929-1945 (Ref: MS Eng lett e 136); letter from Williams to Robert Bridges, 1930 (Ref: Dep Bridges 13, f 92). Lambeth Palace Library, London, holds two letters from Williams to G K A Bell, 1932 (Ref: Bell Papers (Religious Drama), volume III). University of Reading Library holds a letter from Williams to Macmillan and Co Ltd, 1934 (in MS1089) and four letters from Williams to R L Megroz, 1935-1940 (in MS1979/97 & 113/1). Cambridge University Library holds two letters between Williams and Francis Meynell, 1934 (in Meynell XX). Leeds, Brotherton Library, Brotherton Collection, holds a sonnet, 'Infinite mountains of the interior mind' (in Wilfrid Wilson Gibson Collection), three letters from Williams to Will Foster, 1936 (in Will Foster Correspondence) and letter of condolence from Williams on the death of Lascelles Abercrombie, 1938. University of Kent at Canterbury Library holds a letter from Williams to Hewlett Johnson, 1936 (Ref: HJ06463). Oxford University Press, Oxford, holds letters from A E Housman to Williams (three items), 1929-1930 (published in The letters of A E Housman, 1971). BBC Written Archives Centre, Reading, holds correspondence between Williams and members of staff at the BBC, 1937-1942 (Ref: Radio contributors. Scriptwriters, file 1). Harvard University, Houghton Library, holds 21 letters to Theodora Bosanquet and literary manuscripts, 1940-1945 (Ref: b MS Eng 1213).
Publication note
Notes area
Note
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English