MS 9346
Papers of Robin Lucas (1947- )
Scope and content note
Papers
1968-95
84 cm. (6 boxes)
Available for reference, except for Series 1, Folders 4 and 5 which are
restricted until 2010
The collection was purchased from Robin Lucas by the National Library in
1995.
The papers comprise correspondence, photographs and papers relating to
Lucas' journalism (including the 'Foreword' column for the Weekend
Australian and the 'New paperbacks' column for the Sydney Morning
Herald) and writings (including reviews of The Allen & Unwin good
reading guide and the Wilder shores).
The correspondents include Archie and Milly Colquhoun, Emma Baulch,
Rhyll McMaster, Chris Henning, Margaret Jones, Shirley Hazzard, Alister
Kershaw, Russel Ward and Lyn Tranter.
Biographical note
The journalist, editor and author Robin Lucas was born on 3 January
1947. She has written book reviews for the Weekend Australian (the
'Foreword' column, under the pseudonym Elizabeth Swanson), the Sydney
Morning Herald (the 'New paperbacks' column), Voices, The
Bulletin, Brisbane Review and the Courier Mail.
Her published works include The Allen & Unwin good reading
guide (1990), the Wilder shores: women's travel stories of Australia
and beyond (1992) and Balancing act: being a stepmother
(1996).
Lucas married Geoffrey Dutton in April 1985.
Series list
Series/Title
1 Correspondence, 1968-95
2 'Foreword' column, Weekend Australian, 1987-88
3 'New paperbacks' column, Sydney Morning Herald, 1987-90
4 Other journalism, 1982-94
5 Writings, 1981-93
6 Photographs, 1982-94
7 Other papers, 1988
Series description
Series 1 Correspondence, 1968-95
The series includes letters of Archie and Milly Colquhoun, Emma Baulch
(daughter of Lucas, some of the letters were written in Indonesia), Rhyll
McMaster, Chris Henning, Ian Hicks, Kate Grenville, Mirka Mora, Bob Brissenden,
Lyn Tranter, Helen Garner, Margaret Jones, Roger McDonald, Shirley Hazzard,
Alister Kershaw, Russel Ward and Yasmine Gooneratne. Many of them relate to the
'New paperbacks' column in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Folder
1 Letters of Archie and Milly Colquhoun, 1968
2 Correspondence, 1983-88
3 Correspondence with Chris Henning, 1988-92
4 Letters of Emma Baulch, 1988-95 Restricted
5 Letters of Rhyll McMaster, 1989-95 Restricted
6 Correspondence, 1989
7 Correspondence, 1990-91
8 Correspondence, 1992
9 Correspondence, 1993
10 Correspondence regarding Geoffrey Dutton's book Out in the
open, 1994
11 Correspondence, 1994-95
Series 2 'Foreword' column, Weekend Australian,
1987-88
Lucas wrote the 'Foreword' column in the Weekend Australian
under the pseudonym 'Elizabeth Swanson'.
The series comprises correspondence, cuttings and typescripts of the
reviews. The correspondents include members of the public (with comments on the
reviews), Mary Wright (Fremantle Arts Centre Press), Peter Fuller (The
Canberra Times), Michelle Anderson (Hill of Content Publishing), Rod Usher
(The Age), Michael Heyward and Peter Craven (Scripsi) and
David Brooks.
The papers had been kept in files and the Library has been preserved
this arrangement.
Folder
1 Elizabeth Swanson correspondence, 1987
2 Elizabeth Swanson correspondence, 1988
3 Cuttings of 'Foreword' column, 1987-88
4-6 Typescripts for 'Foreword' column, 1987-88
Series 3 'New paperbacks' column, Sydney Morning
Herald, 1987-90
Lucas wrote the reviews of new paperbacks for the Sydney Morning
Herald between 1987 and 1990. The small series comprises cuttings,
arranged in chronological order, of the articles.
4 folders
Series 4 Other journalism, 1982-94
Lucas reviewed books for the Sydney Morning Herald,
Voices, The Bulletin, Brisbane Review and the
Courier Mail. The small series contains cuttings of the articles.
3 folders
Series 5 Writings, 1981-93
The series includes drafts and cuttings relating to Lucas' writings,
including The Allen & Unwin good reading guide (1990) and
Wilder shores: Australian women's travel stories (1992).
Folder
1 Published short stories and poems, 1981-82
2 Reviews of The Allen & Unwin good reading guide, 1990
3 Reviews of The Allen & Unwin good reading guide,
1992-93
Series 6 Photographs, 1982-94
The small series comprises about 38 photographs of Lucas' wedding to
Geoffrey Dutton (April 1985), an album containing photographs of friends
(including Peter Carey, Arthur Boyd, Barry Humphries, Robert Hughes and Yevgeny
Yevtushenko) and a small album containing pictures taken at the launch of
Wilder shores (1992).
Series 7 Other papers, 1988
The series comprises correspondence (1984-86) relating to Robin Lucas
(Baulch) divorce proceedings, a small quantity of photocopies of articles,
cuttings (mostly of book reviews) and printed material. The photocopies include
articles entitled 'White's short stories' by Andrew Taylor (Overland,
Aug. 1965), 'The short stories of John Morrison' by A.A. Phillips
(Overland, Winter 1974) and 'Notes on Frank Moorhouse'
(Overland, Spring 1973). The printed material includes a folder on the
Melbourne Spoleto Writers Festival 1988, a copy of the 1988 'Occasional
Newsletter of the Australian Literary Management' and Fontana Book
News, August 1988.
7 folders
Box list
| Box
|
Series
|
Folder/item |
| 1 |
1 |
1-3; 6-8 |
| 2 |
1 |
8-10 |
| 2 |
2 |
1-5 |
| 3 |
2 |
6 |
| 3 |
3 |
1-4 |
| 3 |
4 |
1-3 |
| 4 |
5 |
1-3 |
| 4 |
6 |
1-3 |
| 4 |
7 |
1-2 |
| 5 |
7 |
3-7 |
| 6 |
1 |
4-5
Restricted |
August 2000 |