Barbara in the Bodleian: Revelations from the Pym Archives
by Yvonne Cocking
Barbara in the Bodleian: Revelations from the Pym Archives is a collection of essays by Yvonne Cocking, longtime archivist of the Barbara Pym Society and a former co-worker of Pym’s, based on twelve years of research in the Pym archives in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. It includes excerpts from Pym’s diaries and notebooks plus correspondence and press clippings, and focuses on the nine novels published during Pym’s lifetime – their background, development, and revision, and the reactions of friends, fans, and critics.
‘Yvonne Cocking has a unique knowledge of the wealth of material collected in the Pym archives. This, and the fact that she knew Barbara, has given her a special insight…
‘The voice of the writer comes through, making it, refreshingly, a personal as well as a scholarly work. It is a work of enthusiasm and affection which will give information and pleasure to all Barbara’s admirers.’ – Hazel Holt
Paperback, 262 pages, © 2013 by the Barbara Pym Society
$15 plus $4 S&H, shipping to addresses in the USA only
Foreword by Hazel Holt
1. Introduction: Barbara and I at the International African Institute
2. Researching Barbara Pym in the Bodleian Library
3. Rupert Gleadow: Barbara’s First Oxford Romance
4. Barbara Pym in Germany
5. Some Tame Gazelle: Some Views and Reviews
6. Mildred’s World: The Making of Excellent Women
7. Jane and Prudence: A Novel of Contrasts
8. Less Than Angels: A Look at the Background of the ‘Anthropological Novel’
9. ‘WHAT IS MY NEXT NOVEL TO BE?’ (The Lime Tree Bower, afterwards called A Glass of Blessings)
10. A Thankless Task? (The Development of No Fond Return of Love)
11. A Publication History of The Sweet Dove Died
12. From Four Point Turn to Quartet In Autumn
13. ‘Grey and pointed at both ends’: The Genesis and Public Reception of A Few Green Leaves
14. Epilogue