Joseph Stanley Pennell papers , 1924-1961

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Pennell, Joseph Stanley, 1903-1963
Title
Joseph Stanley Pennell papers
Dates
1924-1961 (inclusive)
Quantity
6 linear feet, (4 containers)  :  4 record storage boxes
Collection Number
Ax 194
Summary
Joseph S. Pennell (1903-1963), novelist and short story writer, is most known for his book on the Civil War, The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters, where he "depicted the lives of ordinary soldiers with gripping realism." The collection consists of correspondence, diaries, literary manuscript material, an autobiography, idea notebook, published newspaper pieces, photographs, and the personal correspondence, diary and manuscripts of Elizabeth (nee Horton) Pennell.
Repository
University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives
UO Libraries--SCUA
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR
97403-1299
Telephone: 5413463068
spcarref@uoregon.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.

Additional Reference Guides

See the Current Collection Guide for detailed description and requesting options.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Joseph S. Pennell (1903-1963), novelist and short story writer, was born in Junction City, Kansas and educated at the University of Kansas and Oxford. He was a newspaper reporter and teacher.

His first novel, The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters (1944) was a book "based on the author's recollections from his own Kansas family as well as his reading of more than 1,000 Civil War books and the 128 volumes of the Official Records, Pennell depicted in Rome Hanks the lives of ordinary soldiers with gripping realism."

Pennell's second novel, The History of Nora Beckham: A Museum of Home Life (1948), continued his family's Kansas saga, focusing on the life of Pennell's mother. A projected third volume, entitled The History of Thomas Wagnal, apparently further continued the family's Kansas saga and exists in manuscript, and is part of the Pennel collection.

He married Elizabeth Horton in St. Louis in 1945. After she died from an overdose of sleeping pills in 1949, he married her sister, Virginia Horton, who survived him. He had no children.

In 1947, Pennell moved to Oregon and he published one more book, Darksome House, a collection of his poems, in 1959. He lived in Oregon for sixteen years until his death, at the age of 60, in 1963.

Source: Biography Reference Center website: http://web.ebscohost.com/brc/detail?sid=0393e300-942e-4578-8e76-a9b345aa9a22%40sessionmgr110&vid=6&hid=104&bdata=JnNpdGU9YnJjLWxpdmU%3d#db=b6h&AN=35194877

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of correspondence, diaries, literary manuscript material, an autobiography, idea notebook, published newspaper pieces, photographs, and the personal correspondence, diary and manuscripts of Elizabeth Pennell, nee Horton.

Pennell's diary contains repeated references to the toil associated with creative work. It is written from 1932-1937 and has three later entries, 1946, 1948, and 1951.

Correspondence include sixty five letters from Pennell to Elizabeth Horton (Pennell), 1945, and 304 letters received. Major correspondents are: Jean Benedict (1941-1942, 18 letters) Luada Boswell (1941-1943, 40 letters) Martha Gellhorn (1931, 1936, 23 letters); Marian Ives (1945-1951, 20 letters); and the publisher of Rome Hanks Maxwell Perkins (1943-1946, 61 letters).

Book manuscripts include unpublished chapters of The History of Rome Hanks, the originals of Nora Beckham and The History of Thomas Wagnal. Also available are manuscripts of two other novels, a holograph science fiction novel titled Atmen, and an autobiography, not completed. Other manuscripts include thirty five short stories and essays.

There are also poetry manuscripts and a notebook of ideas. The notebook contains a wide range of potential subjects, character possibilities, scraps of description, dialogue, and pertinent historical information.

The papers of Elizabeth Pennell, nee Horton, include her diary, 1927-1928, when she was enjoying life in Paris and North Africa, letters to Claude Kent (1927-1928) and George Reese (1933-1934), and letters from Ramsay Brown (1933-1938). Her manuscripts include Bali notes and other Bali subjects, college themes, and other topics.

There is a file of Pennell family miscellany.

Graphic materials include a photograph album of Elizabeth Pennell's, and photographs by Joseph Judd Pennell of Junction City, Kansas and Fort Riley, 1897-1925.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Authors, American--20th century
  • Authors, American--Kansas
  • Authors, American--Oregon
  • Historical fiction, American--Authorship

Personal Names

  • Pennell, Elizabeth Horton, d. 1949
  • Pennell, Elizabeth Horton, d. 1949
  • Pennell, Elizabeth Horton, d. 1949
  • Pennell, Joseph Stanley, 1903-1963
  • Pennell, Joseph Stanley, 1903-1963
  • Pennell, Joseph Stanley, 1903-1963

Geographical Names

  • Kansas--Fiction
  • Kansas--Photographs

Form or Genre Terms

  • Autobiographies
  • Correspondence
  • Diaries
  • Historical fiction
  • Manuscripts for publication
  • Photographs