Briggs, Julia, 1943-2007

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"Dear Mrs Briggs, Having seen your appeal for Nesbit material in the TLS, I wrote to you some months ago, but not to your Canterbury Road address. Miss Margaret Taylor suggested that I write to you and gave me the Canterbury Road address, so I am trying again, with renewed hope. I am writing an M.A. thesis on Mrs Molesworth and E Nesbit, and wondered whether you would be so good as to suggest what secondary material I should read on Victorian/Edwardian fantasy..."

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"Dear Mrs Briggs, I was overwhelmed with joy on receiving your letter (and selfishly happy that your book hasn't appeared yet because it sounds as if you are coverine verything possible: all that I'd thought of and much that I hadn't). I can't unfortunately read the early uncollected Nesbit stuff, or anything other than the 18 things published by Benn (17 + the Dragons), because of sheer unavailability..."

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"Dear Miss Briggs, I am glad to hear that you are coming so quickly to Aberdovey. Berta Ruck is a wonderful old lady, but at 99 her future is uncertain, to say the least! September 7th is a Wednesday, which would give you a chance to introduce yourself to her. I always spend Thursday morning with her (also Tuesday)..."

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"Dear Julia, FINALLY, even though my grant is not official, I have purchased a plane ticket and have some plans for research. I have carefully guarded your kind invitation and letter with great expectations although very unclear plans. Could you allow me to see the D.L. Moore materials 1 July through approximately July 8th? My plane leaves from Gatwick at an undisclosed, as yet, time on the 8th so I think I'm asking only through the 7th..."

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"Dear Julia, Your name surfaced last week. Sonia Landes and I were both in Kansas City for the Children's Literature Association Conference; I haven't seen her since that glimpse at your home. We both noted that we haven't heard from you. How is the book coming? We actually said some wonderful things about you; brilliant and beautiful seemed the predominant adjectives..."

Scope and Contents "Dear Julia, A new address, a new situation, and a highly desirable setting all around. I'm back in Minnesota after a shakey year in Illinois. I now have the doctorate and a full-time position at Mankato State University in an English department, highly unusual for a person in children's literature. With the thesis out of the day, and what an albatross -- Coleridge was right -- it was, I'm back working on the Millar material. In fact, I just received notice of several books to be paid for...

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"Dear Julia Briggs, Grovelling apologies for my long delay in answering your letter of 7 February about the plays by E. Nesbit that we list in Twentieth-Century Children's Writers. I'm afraid your query arrived while I was in the midst of seeing the Reference Guide to American Literature through the press, and at that point in one of our projects everything--common courtesy included--gets shoved sideways..."

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"Many thanks for the xerox - yes! I would like to borrow The Amulet if you can spare one for a few days. The Bursar of Pembroke has not, it seems been idle - see attached card..."

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"I thought you might be amused by this somewhat out-of-the-way tribute to your author."