Guide to the Papers of Marian Eldridge
MS 9227; MS Acc01.082; MS Acc03.199;.MS Acc09.158
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Marian Eldridge
- Title
- Papers of Marian Eldridge
- Date Range
- 1942-1997
- Collection Number
- MS 9227; MS Acc01.082; MS Acc03.199;.MS Acc09.158
- Extent
- 10.41 metres (39 MS boxes + 10 cartons + 2 packets)
- Physical Facet
- LEGACY NOTE: 30 MS boxes (MS 9227)
- Language of Materials
-
English
English - Repository
- Special Collections (Manuscripts)
Introduction
Scope and Contents
Eldridge was a short story writer and novelist. The collection comprises personal correspondence, financial papers, correspondence concerning the writing and publication of her various works, handwritten drafts, typescripts, copy-edit and page proofs, notes and research material, and book reviews.
The personal and literary correspondence documents her relationships with other writers, friends, and members of the Eldridge and Stockfeld families. The principal literary correspondents include Geoffrey Dutton, Judith Wright, Vance Palmer, Gwen Harwood, Ian R. Mathews, John Barnes, Myra Roper, Edith Conley, FairlieApperly, Irene Summy, Anne Elder, and Joan Mas. The personal correspondents include Eldridge's mother, the writer Gwen Stockfeld, her brother David Stockfeld, her children David, James, Elizabeth, and Catherine Eldridge, various Eldridge and Stockfeld relatives, and friends from Australia and overseas.
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn528621).
Conditions Governing Use
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Preferred Citation
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Marian Eldridge, National Library of Australia, [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.
Provenance
The Library purchased Marian Eldridge's papers in May 1997 from her husband Ken Eldridge.
Related Materials
The Library holds the papers of Gwen Stockfeld (MS 9228). The Library also holds the papers of several of the members of the Seven Writers (of which Eldridge was one), including Margaret Barbalet (MS 5396), Sara Dowse (MS 7365), Marion Halligan (MS 8460), and Dorothy Johnston (MS 8194).
Arrangement
Eldridge kept her papers in good order and the Library has retained this arrangement.
Finding Aid Source(s)
Please note: This finding aid may comprise or contain descriptive information provided by donors, researchers and/or volunteers.
Collection Retrieval Advice
Please note: each consignment in this collection has a separate box number sequence (i.e. there may be multiple Box 1s). Please cite the relevant Class number as well as the Box number when requesting retrieval of material from the collection.
Biographical Note
Marian Eldridge (Marian Favel Clair Stockfeld) was born on 1 February 1936 in Melbourne, grew up near Lancefield, and later lived in Melbourne, Traralgon and Canberra. Her parents, Brian and Gwen Stockfeld, ran a small property 'The Gap', near Lancefield, from 1935 to 1972. Eldridge's early education was by correspondence at home followed by a year at St Michael's, Melbourne, and then Kyneton High School. She then attended Melbourne University, and attained a Bachelor of Arts in 1957. She was married to Ken Eldridge, and had four children. She travelled extensively in Australia and overseas.
Eldridge published three short story collections, Walking the Dog (1984), The Woman at the Window (1989), and The Wild Sweet Flowers - The Alvie Skerritt Stories (1994), and a novel, Springfield (1992), all published by the University of Queensland Press. She also edited the anthology Amongst the Leaves: prose and poetry from students' workshops at Darwin High School (1989), with stories written by students from when she was writer-in-residence at Darwin High School in 1989. Eldridge contributed her short story 'Capital Gains' to Canberra Tales (1988), an anthology of stories set in and about Canberra and compiled by the Seven Writers. This group of Canberra writers also included Margaret Barbalet, Sara Dowse, Suzanne Edgar, Marion Halligan, Dorothy Horsfield, and Dorothy Johnston.
Eldridge's short stories were featured in a number of newspapers, journals, and more than 20 short story collections, including Muse, Meanjin, Southerly, The Bulletin, The Canberra Times, Best Short Stories 1986 (1986), Moments of Desire (1989), and Personal Best 2: stories and statements by Australian Writers (1991).
In 1996 Eldridge wrote 12 poems which were published in the Senate Hansard of 19 June 1997.
Eldridge won numerous writing competitions and awards, including 1st prize in the Robin Hood Committee Annual Literature Competition, 1972; equal 4th place in the 14th State of Victoria Short Story Award, 1977-78; 1st prize in The Canberra Times/Commonwealth Bank National Short Story Award, 1981; and 3rd place in the Marcus Clarke Award, Syme Community Newspapers Short Story Competition, 1983. In 1992 she received two awards, the ACT Arts Bureau Literary Fellowship and an Australia Council Literary Board Grant, Category B. In 1994 she won the International Year of the Family Award in the NSW State Literary Awards.
Throughout her career Eldridge worked as a teacher in English and History at Traralgon High School, as a relief teacher in Canberra secondary schools, a tutor in literature courses for the Centre of Continuing Education at the Australian National University, a book reviewer for The Canberra Times and Australian Book Review, and in 1986 as the first literature coordinator for the ACT Arts Council.
Eldridge died in Canberra on 14 February 1997.
Item Descriptions
Class MS 9227. Original consignment
Comprises personal correspondence, financial papers, correspondence concerning the writing and publication of Marian Eldridge's various works, handwritten drafts, typescripts, copy-edit and page proofs, notes and research material, and book reviews. The personal and literary correspondence documents her relationships with other writers, friends, and members of the Eldridge and Stockfeld families. The principal literary correspondents include Geoffrey Dutton, Judith Wright, Vance Palmer, Gwen Harwood, Ian R. Mathews, John Barnes, Myra Roper, Edith Conley, Irene Summy, Anne Elder and Joan Mas. The personal correspondents include Eldridge's mother, writer Gwen Stockfeld; her brother David Stockfield; her children David, James, Elizabeth, and Catherine Eldridge; various Eldridge and Stockfeld relatives, and friends from Australia and overseas.
Contained in 30 boxes.
Series 1. Personal and literary correspondence, 1955-96
Eldridge was a prolific correspondent with a wide network of friends, colleagues, and family. The bulk of the series comprises personal correspondence with various family members and friends. The personal correspondents include Doris Brennan, Carol Young, Susan M. Curry, Suzanne Edgar, Joan Dugdale, Carline Ashworth, Margaret Clark, Mary Chandler, Jeanette Llewelyn, Gojko Raseta, Jean Galbraith, David and Anne Danbury, Charles Hawkins, Ken and Liz Bullock, and Jeanne and Bernie Barrett.
The literary correspondence documents Eldridge's relationships with other writers, and includes comments on the writing and publication of her various works, congratulatory letters, and personal news. The series includes single letters from or correspondence with Judith Wright, Vance Palmer, Gwen Harwood, Ian R. Mathews, John Barnes, Myra Roper, Edith Conley, Fairlie Apperly, Irene Summy, Anne Elder, and Joan Mas.
Series 2. Letters of Gwen Stockfeld, 1958-95
Eldridge and her mother Gwen Stockfeld corresponded frequently for over thirty years. This long sequence of letters contains mainly personal and family news, as well as discussion regarding Stockfeld's memoirs Cream Puffs and Cow Pats.
Series 3. Papers of David Eldridge, 1960-96
The series comprises letters from Eldridge's eldest son David Eldridge to his parents and family, as well as newspaper cuttings, school reports and notebooks, and various personal records relating to David Eldridge. The letters discuss family news and travels overseas.
Series 4. Papers of Elizabeth Eldridge, 1963-96
The series includes letters from Eldridge's eldest daughter Elizabeth Eldridge to her parents and family, as well as newspaper cuttings, birth and school records, and notebooks. There is also a cassette recording of Elizabeth Eldridge and Roger McDonald in a duet.
Series 5. Letters of David Stockfeld and family, 1954-96
The series comprises letters to Eldridge from her brother David Stockfeld and his family, including Margaret Murray, Sue Stockfeld, and his children Rebecca, Simon, Sally, and Martin Stockfeld. The letters discuss family news, Stockfeld's business 'Billabong Seed Supplies', farm management, and travels overseas.
Series 6. Family Letters, 1963-96
The series comprises letters from various relatives of Ken and Marian Eldridge, including Eldridge's cousins Iris Stockfeld and Dick and Judy Dauncey, Ken Eldridge's sisters Kathleen Trethewey and Jenny Harapeet, and his cousin Nada Hunter.
Series 7. Walking the Dog, 1984
Walking the Dog was Eldridge's first anthology of short stories. The work comprises stories written by her from 1964 to 1982, many previously published in numerous journals and publications such as Luna, Westerly, Muse, The Canberra Times, and The Bulletin. The folder for each short story includes handwritten drafts, typescripts (often dated), notes and research material, and correspondence regarding submission of the story to various journals and newspapers. The series contains correspondence with the University of Queensland Press (publisher) and Penguin (distributor) regarding compilation and publication of the anthology. The series also includes reviews, a copy of the published book, and a photocopy of Eldridge's notebook recording details of submission of each short story to various publications.
Series 8. Canberra Tales, 1988
Canberra Tales is an anthology of stories set in and about Canberra, compiled by the Seven Writers group to which Eldridge belonged. Her contribution 'Capital Gains' was later included in The Wild Sweet Flowers. The series comprises correspondence with the Seven Writers, the Australian Bicentennial Authority and Penguin, as well as notes and reviews.
Series 9. The Woman at the Window, 1989
The Woman at the Window, Eldridge's second anthology, comprises stories written by her from 1981 to 1988. A number of these were previously published in numerous journals and publications such as Southerly, Moments of Desire (1989), Muse, Luna, Kunapipi, and The Australian Literary Magazine.
The folder for each short story includes handwritten drafts, typescripts (often dated), notes and research material, and correspondence regarding submission of the story to various publications. The series contains correspondence regarding compilation and publication of the anthology, primarily with the University of Queensland Press and Penguin. The series also includes reviews, a copy of the published book, and a photocopy of Eldridge's notebook recording details of submission of each short story to various publications.
Series 10. Springfield, 1992
The series comprises drafts, notes and research material, and copy-edit and page proofs relating to Eldridge's only novel, Springfield. Many of the drafts are heavily annotated with comments from the Seven Writers, editors, and family members including David Stockfeld, Sue Stockfeld, and Elizabeth Eldridge. The series also includes music composed by Elizabeth Eldridge for use in the novel.
Series 11. The Wild Sweet Flowers - Alvie Skerritt Stories, 1994
The series comprises handwritten drafts, typescripts, copy-edit and page proofs, correspondence, and notes and research material relating to the publication of The Wild Sweet Flowers. A number of these stories were previously published in Walking the Dog, Canberra Tales, and The Woman at the Window, as well as in various journals and other publications. The series also includes a photocopy of Eldridge's notebook recording details of submission of each story to various journals, and a copy of the published book.
Series 12. Other writings, 1954-89
The series comprises drafts of various writings, including short stories (mostly unpublished) and a one-act play. The series also includes essays from history, philosophy and English units completed by Eldridge at Melbourne University.
Class MS Acc01.082. Consignment added 2001 - Carton 1-10 (MS Acc01.082), Box 1-4 (MS Acc01.082)
Comprises juvenilia, correspondence, drafts, articles, reviews, talks, and files on writing projects and literary organisations, teaching notes, research material on various writers, business and legal papers, publications containing Eldridge's contributions, and condolences following her death.
Contained in 4 boxes, 10 cartons.
Class MS Acc03.119. Consignment added 2003 - Box 1-5 (MS Acc03.119), Folio-Box Shared, Box 6
Comprises diaries, 1954-1956 and 1964-1972, correspondence between Ken and Marian Eldridge, 1955-1990s, letters from Ken and Marian to their children, 1978-1979, letters from Brian Stockfeld to his mother and between Brian and Gwen Stockfeld, 1921-1970s, school magazines and other miscellaneous papers.
Contained in 2 cartons.