These materials, acquired after Caroline Gordon's death, consist primarily of manuscripts that Gordon was working on during the last decade of her life and correspondence with family and friends. The assemblage of letters that Gordon sent to close family members represents a particularly rich trove of autobiographical material, specifically a window into the life she shared with poet and critic Allen Tate. Later correspondence tracks her involvement in various creative writing programs throughout the United States and her final years in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.
This series is arranged into three subseries: Writings, Correspondence, and Miscellaneous Materials.
Toward the end of her life, Caroline Gordon was working on an autobiographical novel that combined childhood memories, family history and Greek myth. An ambitious project that evolved over a period of twenty years, the original project, entitled "A Narrow Heart," gave way to two separate projects: "The Joy of the Mountains" which recounted her relative Meriwether Lewis's trip west, and The Glory of Hera (1972). Following publication of the latter, Gordon eventually merged these unpublished projects and gave it the title "Behold My Trembling Heart."
The bulk of manuscripts in these additional papers consists of heavily edited drafts toward this work. The order of the book seems to have changed or been rearranged frequently, as various manuscripts bear multiple chapter names, headings, or numbers, and there is little order among the pages. The materials are nearly all typed with autograph corrections, except in the case of the notebooks, which are handwritten.
Arranged by genre.
TMs with autograph corrections. Pages 1-47.
Original folder included note: "Visit of Lewis to Jefferson at home"
It appears that much of the material for "Joy of the Mountains" and "A Narrow Heart" was later subsumed under the title "Behold My Trembling Heart." Most of the folders with these materials contain multiple manuscripts, following the order in which the materials were received. Most of the manuscripts are untitled, so when there is no clear title, the first line of the passage is given.
Starts off, "The first thing I remember in this life is my attempt to take that life"
Includes letters from Nelson Heath Meriwether and Marjorie Lawson, cousins of Gordon.
Includes both AMss and TMss of biographical material.
Note from original folder read: "version published in the Michigan Quarterly under the title of 'That Ugly Welsh Book.'" Folder includes book on prayer (date unknown).
"One of these heroes is my grand-uncle, Jesse Babcock Ferguson," and others.
"1803 / Thomas Jefferson, the newly elected President of the United States [...]," and others.
"The Fergusons were landless people," and others.
Includes "Dominicans in Kentucky" and "Notes on an old Southern Family".
Written by Caroline Gordon, a remembrance of Ford Madox Ford.
The TMs here is entitled "The young man who called himself Charles D'Esperville" after the first line of the piece. It was published in the Southern Review.
Consists of correspondence, acquired after Caroline Gordon's death, primarily written in the later years of her life to both family members as well as friends and other authors.
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
This category consists of letters from friends and associates of Caroline Gordon's. Some were sent after her death and are addressed to Gordon's daughter, Nancy (Tate) Wood, or son-in-law, Percy Wood.
6 TLsS
Includes student paper on Tate.
Includes 1 ALS from Gordon.
Multiple TLsS from Marion of Irving, Texas to Caroline Gordon. The file includes an ALS and a draft of a TLS from Gordon.
Unlike correspondence in the "General" category, the majority of materials under "Family" consist of letters Caroline Gordon wrote and sent to various family members, particularly her aunt Pidie and cousin Marion "Manny." These letters therefore constitute a rich trove of autobiographical material about Caroline Gordon over a span of six decades.
Includes 1 TLS from Caroline to daughter.
Includes 1 TLS and 1 ALS from Gordon to Wood.
Includes letters from Nancy Wood to Marion Meriwether and Margaret Carden, among others.
Consists of Caroline Gordon's death certificate and an examination for Allen T. Wood.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Also includues "The Detective Story as Pleasure" by Sally Wood, and real estate listing for "The Red House".