Record

StorageSiteUCL Special Collections
LevelCollection
Reference Number STRACHEY
TitleStrachey Papers
Date1929-1975
DescriptionPapers and correspondence, 1929-1975 and undated, of Julia Frances Strachey, including diaries, notebooks, manuscripts and typescripts, 1929-1975 and undated; letters to Julia, 1924-1956 and undated, the writers including Dora Carrington; letters to Stephen Tomlin and Julia, 1923-1930 and undated, the writers including Lytton Strachey; correspondence between Stephen Tomlin and Julia, 1930-1931; correspondence between Julia and Lawrence Gowing, 1939-1971 and undated, and other letters to Julia, 1952-1967 and undated; personalia, including a copy of a divorce certificate, 1967, a will, 1971, a business diary, 1971, an appointment diary, 1974, passports, and an undated address book; postcards and photographs, largely undated, mainly miscellaneous works of art but also including Lytton and Oliver Strachey, Dora Carrington, and Stephen Tomlin; a scrapbook, 1932-1971, mainly comprising press cuttings including reviews of Strachey's novels, with a few miscellaneous letters inserted.
Extent12 boxes
AdminHistoryBorn, 1901; daughter of Oliver Strachey and his first wife Ruby Mayer, and niece of the critic and biographer Lytton Strachey; a writer, but published few books during her lifetime; wrote sketches and stories for 'New Writing', 'New Statesman' and 'New Yorker'; married firstly Stephen Tomlin (d 1937) and secondly the artist Lawrence Gowing (Slade Professor of Fine Art at University College London, 1975-1985; d 1991), 1952; divorced, 1967; died, 1979. Publications: 'Cheerful weather for the wedding' (1932); 'The man on the pier' (1951).

Sources: Julia: A Portrait of Julia Strachey, by herself and Frances Partridge (Victor Gollancz Ltd, London, 1983); Who's Who entry for Sir Lawrence Gowing; British Library OPAC. Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.
AcquisitionThe papers were presented to University College London by Professor Sir Lawrence Gowing in three accessions, one in 1983 and two in 1985. An additional packet of letters from Frances Partridge to Julia Strachey was donated by Laura Gowing in 2023.
ArrangementThe papers are divided into sections comprising correspondence (Ref: A-E) and personalia and photographs (Ref: F-H).
AccessStatusOpen
AccessConditionsThe papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.
FindingAidsThe archive is fully catalogued and the list available on the online catalogue.
PublnNoteThe papers were extensively used for 'Julia: A Portrait of Julia Strachey, by herself and Frances Partridge' (Victor Gollancz Ltd, London, 1983).
Add to My Items