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Brendan Behan Papers
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Brendan Behan (1923-1964) was an acclaimed 20th-century Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright, who wrote in both English and Irish.
A good portion of Behan's later adolescence and early adulthood was spent in English or Irish institutions, initially borstals and then prisons, due to his involvement in the Irish Republican Army. It was during this time that he took it upon himself to study and become fluent in the Irish language. Behan gained international notoriety by the late 1950's, with the production of two plays, The Quare Fellow (1954) and An Giall / The Hostage (1958), and with the publication of his autobiographical novel, Borstal Boy (1958), which became a worldwide best-seller. Behan continued to write until his death in 1964.
This collection consists primarily of selected manuscripts and notebooks of 20th-century Irish writer Brendan Behan's most important literary and autobiographical works, covering the vast majority of his writing career, including the years he was imprisoned. In addition, the collection includes a substantial proportion of the writer's slender surviving correspondence as well as some personal ephemera.
There are a significant number of literary drafts, comprising either preliminary notes and drafts or completed manuscripts, including those for The Quare Fellow, An Giall / The Hostage, Borstal Boy, and Confessions of an Irish Rebel, as well as Behan's first play, The Landlady, among others. The typescripts that are represented in the collection, including many embryonic typed fragments of works which were subsequently abandoned, are of particular interest: typing appears to have been, for Behan, a direct extension of the creative thought process. In addition to more developed drafts, unpublished notebooks and loose notes offer significant insight into Behan's writing method. These materials are complemented by manuscripts and typescripts for various articles and essays as well as for a few poems and songs.
Behan's correspondence makes up a relatively minor part of the collection, reflecting the author's professed distaste for letter-writing. Many of the letters in the collection are represented in E.H. Mikhail's The Letters of Brendan Behan (London, 1992).
Much of the description of materials in the collection comes from information provided by the auction house at which the collection was purchased.
As no original order was discernible, materials were arranged by type/genre.
According to the auction house at which the collection was purchased, the papers are comprised of everything that passed into the possession of Brendan Behan's widow, Beatrice Behan, upon his death.
Purchase, 2017 (AM 2018-80).
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
Some manuscript items were repaired by Conservation staff during 2018 processing.
This collection was processed by Faith Charlton with assistance from Julia English '19 in 2018. Finding aid written by Faith Charlton with assistance from Julia English '19 in 2018.
No materials were removed from the collection during 2018 processing beyond routine appraisal practices.
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Faith Charlton; Julia English '19
- Finding Aid Date
- 2018
- Access Restrictions
-
Open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
Includes handwritten and typed drafts of and notes relating to various works, including books, scripts, short stories, music, articles and essays, and poetry, several of which Behan drafted during his time in Mountjoy Prison and Curragh Camp. Of special note are three manuscripts for Borstal Boy, including two substantial annotated typescripts and a copybook containing what appears to be the earliest preparatory draft written in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, in 1948, as well as notes in Irish relating to the work. (Note that the different versions of Borstal Boy are located within several of the genre types listed here (Books, Scripts, and Miscellaneous Notes).
There are 10 autograph manuscript drafts for individual works, 16 annotated typescripts, 21 unannotated typescripts, 5 autograph notebooks containing literary drafts, notes, and memoranda, and approximately 131 pages of fragmentary autograph and typed notes and drafts.
Some items include related correspondence.
Physical Description3 boxes
1 box
1 box
Comprising approximately 2/3 of the edition [to page 206], light annotations and emendations, 127 pages numbered 1–131 (pages occasionally missing or in duplicate, significantly tattered condition); with a typed letter to Brendan Behan signed in pencil from Maurice Kennedy with comments on typing Brendan's manuscript.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph notes in Irish, on pages extracted from a ruled notebook. Pages might be from the notebook that contains an autobiographical essay (possibly a draft beginning for Borstal Boy) and the poem Scriosad na mblascaod.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript draft of the first five chapters, with annotations and emendations not in Behan's hand but apparently made under authorial supervision, 62 pages, stapled in chapters.
Physical Description1 folder
2 boxes
1 box
1 box
In Irish, light annotations and emendations, 55 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript of Act 3 of the play, as revised by D. MacDiarmid and with a note in his hand to Brendan on the final page, 6 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript in Irish with annotations and emendations, 20 pages, loose, folio along with autograph notes relating to the play in English.
Physical Description1 folder
Fragments for songs for the stage adaptation of The Hostage, 13 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
About 90 pages of An bhean cíosa in Irish, written while in Mountjoy Prison; with one page of what appears to be set directions for a different play.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph manuscript in English, [Mountjoy]; title page inscribed "For Fred May", 46 pages in a ruled notebook.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph manuscript draft, [Mountjoy], in Irish, 31 pages; stapled with two letters in Irish to Ernest Blythe, the Managing Director of the Abbey Theatre, one dated Mountjoy, May 18, 1946, the other Cell 8, the Curragh [Camp], June 6, 1946, 2 pages each.
Physical Description1 folder
Very lightly emended, 22 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
Autograph manuscript draft for the first act of the play, in Irish, 15 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Stamped "Theatre Workshop Theatre Royal Stratford", 53 pages; with another script bearing annotations in an unidentified hand (incomplete).
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
7 pages of typescript along with a typed letter signed to Brendan from Gerald Raffles, manager of the Theatre Royal, noting that the scenes have been taken from a recording made by Brendan.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph notes and drafts, 16 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript draft of a song beginning "Oh, I met my love in a graveyard", one page.
Physical Description1 folder
Early typescript draft for Act I of the play produced in 1967, annotated, and one page of autograph notes, 7 pages in total.
Physical Description1 folder
2 pages of story with the character "Mr. Bumblefoot."
Physical Description1 folder
2 boxes
Typescript for a radio programme on Dublin street ballads to be presented by Sean O'Faolain, 15 pages (incomplete); with 4 pages of related notes, autograph and typed.
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
Typescript, lightly amended and inscribed and signed by Brendan to "David", 18 pages;
Physical Description1 folder
One page lightly annotated.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript for a radio comedy, 28 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript for a radio play, inscribed "Nessa" in an unidentified hand.
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
1 box
Lightly amended in an unidentified hand, 52 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Lightly annotated, 28 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
25 pages
Physical Description1 folder
33 pages
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript short story, annotations and emendations.
Physical Description1 folder
Two typescript chapters of a pseudo-autobiographical work, together 13 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Draft for a short story, in Irish, the first page numbered "10", 15 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
Typescript ditty in 10 verses, 11/2 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript ditty in 6 verses, one page, slightly annotated.
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
Typescript, first page only
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript essay, annotations and emendations chiefly to the first two pages, 18 pages (incomplete).
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript proof of essay on Irish politics with annotations and emendations, 9 pages (15 Hebert Street, Dublin).
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph fragment in Irish and English, 3 pages, loose, 4to
Physical Description1 folder
Typed review of a radio programme, one page.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript draft of a book review for Richard Bennett's The Black and Tans, lightly annotated, 4 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
Typescript signed ("Brendan Behan, 70 Kildare Road") lecture based on his childhood, annotations and emendations, 10 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
On The Northside / Out of the Depths; the story of a slum rearing, typed notes for an autobiographical essay signed ("Brendan Behan, 70 Kildare Road"), 3 pages (incomplete).
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript of an article in Irish, emendations, 3 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript 3 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript, 5 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript of a short essay touching on patriotism, literature and religion, 3 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript, 159 pages (missing title page).
Physical Description1 folder
Typed notes with autograph additions, 7 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Includes annotations, 4 pages. The first page includes a summary of six articles.
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
1 box
Autograph poem signed, 24 lines on 2 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph notes for the poem To Beatrice, 3 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript draft of a poem, in English and Irish, 1 page.
Physical Description1 folder
2 boxes
Contains an autobiographical essay (possibly a draft beginning for Borstal Boy), in English, 19 pages (incomplete); and "Scriosad na mblascaod", an autograph poem signed and initialled, in Irish, with numerous cancellations and emendations that Behan drafted while in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin. The name and address of Behan's brother, Dominic, is inscribed on the front cover.
May be related to the loose autograph notes in Irish for Borstal Boy.
Physical Description1 folder
Contains notes in English and a little Spanish, apparently relating to his writing, character development, and other wide-ranging topics, in very brief, fragmented format, about 50 pages
Physical Description1 folder
Memorandum book containing notes in English, 8 written pages
Physical Description1 folder
Notebook containing notes for an essay on the Irish, in English, 8 pages, and notes in Irish, 6 pages
Physical Description1 folder
Great Northern Brewery Dundalk notebook, 22 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Notes in Irish in a fragment of a ruled notebook, 6 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Notes in Irish in a ruled notebook apparently used previously for schoolwork, 3 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Mostly consists of single letters. Various correspondents, including some Fianna Fáil politicians and newspaper and magazine editors, are represented.
Many of the letters were published in E.H. Mikhail's The Letters of Brendan Behan (London, 1992).
Some items relate to Beatrice Behan.
Physical Description1 box
1 box
Includes 2 letters from Behan to his wife, Beatrice Behan, as well as a letter from Celia Salkeld to Beatrice Behan.
Physical Description1 folder
Draft of a letter to Liam Dwyer, with autograph emendations, 1/2 page
Physical Description1 folder
Typed draft of a letter to the editor of The Spectator, 15 Herbert Street, Dublin 1/2 page,
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph letter to John Freeman, 5 Anglesea Road, Dublin, on Irish history, 48 pages, missing final page.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Letter to Robert Lusty, 15 Herbert Street, Dublin, on publication rights, 1/2 page
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Autograph letter signed, 18 Waterloo Road, Ballsbridgeabout a just sentence passed [possibly relating to IV.5], 2 pages, with the first page of another letter.
Physical Description1 folder
Typed letter signed to a newspaper editor, 18 Waterloo Road, Dublin, with autograph emendations, 1 page
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph letter signed to Maire O'Congaile, Galway, one page.
Physical Description1 folder
Typed letter signed to Sean Thomas O'Kelly, 15 Herbert Street, Dublin, with autograph emendations, complaining of rough treatment at the hands of the Civic Guards, 11/4 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph note signed to Irma Salkeld, his mother-in-law, about cigars, 1 page.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph letter signed, 18 Waterloo Road, Ballsbridge, 2 pages, missing first page.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph note of birthday wishes signed, in English and Irish, 1/4 page.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 box
Typed letter signed by David Astor, London, suggesting the services of the "Freudian psych-analyst" Dr Willi Hoffer, 1 page.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph letter signed by Claud Cockburn, Dublin, on his financial difficulties resulting from troubles with his publisher, asking to borrow money from Brendan, 4 pages.
Physical Description1 folder
Letter to Brendan and Beatrice Behan from "Grannie Collins", Donnybrook, 14 February 1961, 4 pages
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Also Includes an incomplete letter from an unknown sender enclosing a poem titled "Tolka Tour" and a typed letter signed by H.E.F. Donohue, New York, 11 May 1962, on the beauty of his writing, 1 page.
Physical Description1 folder
Typed letter signed by John Freeman, editor at the New Statesman, London, expressing regret that his letter will not be published, 1 page.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Typed letter signed by Fred Jordan, editor of the Evergreen Review, New York, on publishing an article, one page
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph letter signed by Maurice Kennedy, Dublin, 1 page.
Physical Description1 folder
Telegram of invitation from Pat O'Keefe to Brendan Behan, New York, 1 page.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Concerning the Dalcassian Legation, Crumlin "gurriers," and other matters.
Physical Description1 folder
Telegram by Tennessee Williams, New York.
Physical Description1 folder
Asking Quidnut to convey congratulations to Behan.
Physical Description1 folder
Asking Quidnut to convey congratulations to Behan.
Physical Description1 folder
Includes a card, fragments, and envelopes.
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
Typed statement signed (by Brendan Behan and two witnesses), with autograph emendation, stating that Hutchinson's Publishers release Brendan from any obligations regarding his future work.
Physical Description1 folder
A humorous pen sketch signed "Be Be Been."
Physical Description1 folder
Check for £50 signed by Brendan Behan for [his half-brother] Rory Furlong.
Physical Description1 folder
Among other items, includes: a race book from the Leopardstown Club meet, 1 August 1959, annotated; a program from the staging of The Hostage at the Cort Theatre; a photocopy of Brendan Behan's passport; 2 copies of the Dublin Unemployed Association newsletter, Torch with "An Open Letter to Mr. Gerard Boland" and the poem "Home are the Heroes" by Dominic Behan (October 1953).
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Several manila envelopes and folders with various notes in multiple hands regarding their former content, which primarily included manuscripts, correspondence, and ephemera.
Physical Description1 folder