MS 9336

Papers of Stephen Knight (1940- )



Scope and Content Note

Papers

1977-1991

70 cm (5 boxes)

Available for reference

These papers were purchased by the Library from Stephen Knight in 1992.

The collection comprises correspondence, articles, and typescript drafts of stories, reviews, and other papers relating to Knight’s book The selling of the Australian mind (1990) and his collections of crime short stories, including Dead witness (1989), Crimes for a summer Christmas (1990), A corpse at the opera house (1992). There is also an unpublished manuscript entitled ‘Radical reader 2’.

The correspondents include Michael Wilding, Raymond Southall, Peter Corris, Steve Wright, Janette Turner Hospital, Martin Long, Robert Hood, Mudrooroo, Caroline Lurie and Allen & Unwin.


Biographical Note

Stephen Knight was born on 21 September 1940 an educated at Bournemouth Grammar School and the University of Oxford. He was appointed Teaching Fellow at the University of Sydney in 1963 and lecturer in English in 1964. In 1968-69 he was lecturer in English at the Australian National University. He returned to the University of Sydney in 1970 where he was successively Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor. In 1987 he was appointed Robert Wallace Professor of English at the University of Melbourne. In 1992 Knight returned to England to take up a chair at the De Montfort University at Leicester.

Most of Stephen Knight’s scholarly writings have been in the area of medieval English literature. They include The structure of Sir Thomas Malory’s Arthuriad (1970), Rymyng craftily; form and meaning in Chaucer’s poetry (1973), The poetry of the Canterbury Tales (1974), Arthurian literature and society (1984) and Geoffrey Chaucer (1986).

Knight has also had a long interest in crime fiction. He was the author of Form and ideology in crime fiction (1980) and Continent of mystery; a thematic history of Australian crime fiction (1997). Between 1989 and 1992 he edited four anthologies of Australian crime stories.


Series List

Series Title
1. ‘Radical reader 2’
2. Dead witness
3. The selling of the Australian mind
4. Crimes for a summer Christmas
5. More crime for a summer Christmas
6. A corpse at the opera house

Series Description

Series 1 ‘Radical Reader 2’

Correspondence and other papers for ‘Radical Reader 2’, a proposed sequel to The radical reader, edited by Stephen Knight and Michael Wilding (Wild & Wooley, 1977).
The project was abandoned.

Folder
1. Correspondence 1977-78 of Michael Wilding and Stephen Knight with Raymond Southall and others concerning ‘Radical Reader 2’, 1977-78. The file also contains drafts and other papers.
2. Mock up TV scripts of articles for ‘Radical Reader 2’ (not published).

Series 2 Dead witness

Photocopies of corrected proofs of stories published in the anthology Dead witness: best Australian mystery stories, edited by Stephen Knight (Penguin books, 1989)

Folder
1.

‘Dead witness’ by Mary Fortune written under her pseudonym ‘Waif Wander’
‘The night fossickers of moonlight flat’ by James Skip Borlase
‘The Gully of Bluemansdyke’ by Arthur Conan Doyle

2.

‘The haunted station’ by Hume Nisbet
‘The secret of Emu Plain’ by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
‘My only murder’ by Ernest Favenc

3.

‘La premier pas’ by E.W. Hornung
‘The chosen vessel’ by Barbara Baynton
‘The mailman’s yarn’ by Rolf Boldrewood

4.

‘The bardoc Finn’ by Randolph Bedford
‘The Strath Creek mystery’ by Alan Michaelis
‘The power of the leaf’ by A.E. Martin

5.

‘The jealousy of Stephen Snow’ by Murray Innes
‘Wisp of wool and disk of silver’ by Arthur W. Upfield

6.

‘Heroin Annie’ by Peter Corris
‘Death in Ruby’ by Jennifer Rowe

7.

Draft introduction and notes for Dead Witness. Photocopies of seven stories written by Mary Fortune under her pseudonym ‘Waif Wander’ from the Australian Journal are also included.
‘Twenty six years ago’
‘Fourteen days on the road’
‘Looking for lodgings’
‘How I spent Christmas’
‘Down Bourke Street’
‘Touzer & Co’
‘The spider and the fly’


Series 3 The selling of the Australian mind

The selling of the Australian mind was a volume of essays on Australian society published by Heinemann in 1990. The series includes galleys and corrected typescripts.

Folder
1. Galleys of The selling of the Australian mind
2. Corrected typescripts of draft chapters for The selling of the Australian mind.

Series 4 Crimes for a summer Christmas

Crimes for a summer Christmas, edited by Stephen Knight, was published in 1990.

The series includes correspondence, reviews, clean and corrected typescripts. Some of the typescripts were not used in the book.

Folder
1.

Preface, title page and contents

2.

‘The night of the eclipse’ by Martin Long
‘Mugger’s game’ by Robert Hood

3.

‘Killing time’ by J.K. Sligo
‘Cody’s art’ by Gary Disher (version 2)

4.

‘The caretaker’ by Ian Moffitt
‘The manly shooting’ by Nigel Krauth

5.

‘Tanner’s end’ by Kate Stephens
‘Ladies’ day’ by Jennifer Rowe

6.

‘Songs of the sea’ by Archie Weller
‘Logan’s comet’ by Peter Corris

7.

‘Pioneers’ by Michael Wilding
‘Westralian lead’ by Mudrooroo Narogin

8.

‘Neighbourhood fortress’ by Marion Halligan
‘The stinging tree’ by Marele Day

9.

‘The widder tree shadder murder’ by Elizabeth Jolley
‘The perfect murder’ by Renate Yates

10.

‘Two or three things I knew about him’ by Marele Day (not published)
‘Roses for Do-hoppy’ by Jennifer Rowe (not published)
‘Mea Culpa’ by Kate Stephens (not published)
‘A little night music’ by Janette Turner Hospital (not published)
‘Excellent connections’ by Susan Geason (not published)

11.

Newspaper, magazine and journal reviews relating to ‘Crimes for summer Christmas’

12.

Correspondence relating to ‘Crimes for a summer Christmas’ –1989-Jan 1991


Series 5 More crimes for a summer Christmas

Included in this series are typescripts, the draft introduction, a review and correspondence for More crimes for a summer Christmas, edited by Stephen Knight (Allen & Unwin, 1991).

The correspondents include Peter Corris, Caroline Lurie, Susan Geason, Martin Long, Jessica Anderson, Mudrooroo and Rosemary Creswell.

Folder
1.

Introduction to ‘More crimes for a summer Christmas’.
‘Follow me’ by Marele Day
‘Hitmen on holidays’ by Robert Hood

2.

‘The big lie’ by Peter Corris
‘The merchant of Parramatta’ by Martin Long

3.

‘High rating death’ by Claire McNab
‘Waxworks’ by Kel Richards, published as ‘The amateur hangman’

4.

‘Winston goes straight’ by Steve Wright
‘Old ground’ by Garry Disher

5.

‘The healer’ by Mudrooroo Nyoongah
‘The icecream bursts’ by Marion Halligan

6.

‘An old husband’s tale’ by Susan Geason
‘The vanishing of Jock McHale’s hat’ by Kerry Greenwood

7.

‘The long way home’ by Kate Stephens
‘For Mr Voss or occupant’ by Janette Turner Hospital

8.

‘Australian American collaboration in the fight against world terrorism’ by Richard Hall.

9.

A review of ‘More crimes for a summer Christmas’.

10.

Correspondence with authors relating to Crimes and More crimes, 1990-1991.


Series 6 A corpse at the Opera House

This series includes correspondence and typescripts relating to A corpse at the Opera House: a crimes for a summer Christmas anthology, edited by Stephen Knight (Allen & Unwin, 1992).

The correspondents include Robert Hood, Martin Long, Jon Cleary, Janette Turner Hospital, Steve Wright, Claire McNab and Patrick Gallagher of Allen and Unwin.

Folder
1.

Correspondence relating to A corpse at the Opera House, 1991.

2.

‘Bee sting’ by Robin Wallace
‘The tarpeian way’ by Martin Long

3.

‘Cousin to death’ by Jean Bedford
‘A Corpse at the Opera House’ by Janette Turner Hospital

4.

‘Ghost writer’ by Peter Corris
‘The sugar crisis murder’ by Elizabeth Jolley (not published)

5.

‘The three of spades’ by Steve Wright
‘First victim’ by Kate Stephens
‘Portfolio’ by Brian Castro

6.

‘Dead roses’ by Archie Weller
‘Unpleasantness at the big boys club’ by Marele Day

7.

‘Critical differences’ by Marion Halligan
‘Threshold’ by Garry Disher


Box List

BOX

SERIES

FOLDERS

1

1

1-2

2

1-6

2

2

7

3

1-2

4

1-3

3

4

4-12

4

5

1-10

5

6

1-7

September 1999