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Catherine Drinker Bowen drafts of John Adams and the American Revolution

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. 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

Call Number:
Ms. Coll. 1229
Repository:
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Extent:
5.6 linear feet (7 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Catherine Drinker Bowen drafts of John Adams and the American Revolution, 1946-1949, Ms. Coll. 1229, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania
Date:
1946-1950 (inclusive)
Creator:
Drinker, Catherine
Form:
Writings (documents) and Drafts (documents)
Abstract:
Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897-1973) was an American writer best known for her popular (and occasionally controversial) biographies of prominent American and English historical figures. Her books were great successes in the popular market, but sometimes received criticism from academics for their occasional re-imagining of historical occurrences. This collection includes 5 boxes of material related to her 1950 biography of John Adams, John Adams and the American Revolution. It includes two full drafts of the book, organized by chapter, with each chapter containing various revisions. It also includes various versions of the book's prologue, source notes, and bibliography, as well as notes and corrections, along with a statement by Drinker Bowen explaining her biographical methods.

Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897-1973) was an American writer best known for her popular (and occasionally controversial) biographies of prominent American and English historical figures. Born to a prominent Quaker family in the suburbs of Philadelphia, she studied music at the Peabody Institute and the Juilliard School and earned her teacher's certificate from the Institute of Musical Art in New York before deciding to become a writer. Despite her lack of formal academic training in writing, Drinker Bowen was a formidable researcher, and although her books were intended for a popular audience their utilization of primary source material and wide bibliographic range distinguished them from other popular biographies of her time. Her narrative re-imaginings of historical occurrences, which some academics felt undermined her accuracy, made Drinker Bowen's work controversial at times. However, these controversies did nothing to limit the popularity of her books, which were frequent Book of the Month Club selections, and in 1958 she received the National Book Award for Nonfiction. Her books included Yankee from Olympus (1944), John Adams and the American Revolution (1950), The Lion and the Throne; the Life and Times of Sir Edward Coke (1957), Francis Bacon; the Temper of a Man (1963), and Miracle at Philadelphia (1966). She died in 1973 in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

This collection contains material related to Drinker Bowen's 1950 book John Adams and the American Revolution, originally titled Yankee John, which concerns the early life of John Adams, up to the declaration of American independence from Great Britain. The collection contains both an early draft of the book, completed between 1946 and 1947, and a later, more extensive draft completed between 1947 and 1949. Each draft represents a separate series within the collection, but as Drinker Bowen occasionally placed full pages from earlier drafts into the later one during her working process there are some cases where the delineation is not entirely firm. Each larger draft is organized by chapter, and each chapter is present in various versions; some are complete, while others represent only scattered pages with revisions. Some chapter numbers were changed during the revision process, and in such instances -- except where Drinker Bowen explicitly suggested otherwise with her own folder organization, in which case her note is included in the folder -- efforts have been made to place similar material together, regardless of the change in chapter headings. In general, the chronology of revision is unclear, and it would take careful comparison, both within the manuscript and with the completed book, to map the precise order. The collection also contains drafts of the book's prologue, source list, bibliography, notes and corrections, and a statement concerning Drinker Bowen's biographical methods.

Gift of Catherine Drinker Bowen, 1949.

At the Library of Congress:

Catherine Drinker Bowen papers, 1793-1980 (bulk: 1934-1972), MSS13383

People
Subject
Place

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Finding Aid Author
Sam Allingham
Finding Aid Date
2016 August 22
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Collection Inventory

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Prologue, Chapter 1, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 1
Chapter 2, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 2
Chapter 3, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 3
Chapter 4 , 1946.
Box 1 Folder 4
Chapter 5, 6, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 5
Chapter 7, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 6
Chapter 8, 9, 10, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 7
Chapter 11, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 8
Chapter 12, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 9
Chapter 13, 14, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 10
Chapter 13, 14, 15, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 11
Chapter 15, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 12
Chapter 16, 17, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 13
Chapter 18, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 14
Chapter 19, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 15
Chapter 20, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 16
Chapter 21, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 17
Chapter 22, 23, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 18
Chapter 24, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 19
Chapter 25, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 20
Chapter 26, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 21
Chapter 27, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 22
Chapter 28, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 23
Chapter 29, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 24
Chapter 30, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 25
Chapter 31, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 26
Chapter 32, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 27

Preface , 1949.
Box 1 Folder 28
Preface, part 2 , 1949.
Box 1 Folder 29
Chapter 2, 1947-1949.
Box 1 Folder 30
Chapter 2, 1949.
Box 2 Folder 1
Chapter 3, 1947-1949.
Box 2 Folder 2
Chapter 3, 1949.
Box 2 Folder 3
Chapter 4, 1947-1949.
Box 2 Folder 4
Chapter 5, 1947-1949.
Box 2 Folder 5
Chapter 6, 1947-1949.
Box 2 Folder 6-7
Chapter 7, 1947-1949.
Box 2 Folder 8-9
Chapter 4, 7, 8, revised pages , 1948.
Box 2 Folder 10
Chapter 8, 1947-1949.
Box 2 Folder 11-13
Chapter 8 (later Chapter 9), 1949.
Box 2 Folder 14
Chapter 8, 9, 10, 1947-1949.
Box 2 Folder 15
Chapter 9, 10, 1947-1949.
Box 2 Folder 16-20
Chapter 10, 11, 1947-1949.
Box 2 Folder 21
Chapter 11, 12, 1947-1949.
Box 3 Folder 1
Chapter 12, 1949.
Box 3 Folder 2
Chapter 12, 13, 1947-1949.
Box 3 Folder 3
Chapter 12, 1947-1949.
Box 3 Folder 4
Chapter 13, 1947-1949.
Box 3 Folder 5
Chapter 13, 1947-1949.
Box 3 Folder 6
Chapter 14, 1947-1949.
Box 3 Folder 7-8
Chapter 14, 15, 1947-1949.
Box 3 Folder 9
Chapter 15, 1949.
Box 3 Folder 10-12
Chapter 15, 16, 1949.
Box 3 Folder 13
Chapter 16, 1949.
Box 3 Folder 14-15
Chapter 17, 1949.
Box 3 Folder 16
Chapter 18, 1949.
Box 3 Folder 17
Chapter 16-19, various pages, 1949.
Box 3 Folder 18
Chapter 19, 1949.
Box 4 Folder 1
Chapter 20, 1949.
Box 4 Folder 2-4
Chapter 21, 1949.
Box 4 Folder 5-7
Chapter 22, 1949.
Box 4 Folder 8
Chapter 23, 1949.
Box 4 Folder 9-10
Chapter 24, 1949.
Box 4 Folder 11-15
Chapter 25, 1949.
Box 4 Folder 16-17
Chapter 26, 1949.
Box 4 Folder 18-19
Chapter 27, 1949.
Box 4 Folder 20-21
Chapter 28, 1949.
Box 5 Folder 1-2
Chapter 29, 1949.
Box 5 Folder 3-4
Chapter 30, 1949.
Box 5 Folder 5-8
Chapter 31, 1949.
Box 5 Folder 9-10
Chapter 32, 1949.
Box 5 Folder 11-15
Notes and Corrections, 1949.
Box 5 Folder 16-17
Source Notes and Bibliography, 1949.
Box 5 Folder 18-19
End Material , 1949.
Box 5 Folder 20

Front material, Chapters 1-5, 1950.
Box 6 Folder 1
Chapters 6-8, 1950.
Box 6 Folder 2
Chapters 9-10, 1950.
Box 6 Folder 3
Chapters 11-13, 1950.
Box 6 Folder 4
Chapters 14-16, 1950.
Box 6 Folder 5
Chapters 17-19, 1950.
Box 6 Folder 6
Chapters 20-21, 1950.
Box 6 Folder 7
Chapters 22-23, 1950.
Box 6 Folder 8
Chapters 24-25, 1950.
Box 6 Folder 9
Chapters 26-29, 1950.
Box 7 Folder 1
Chapters 30-31, 1950.
Box 7 Folder 2
Chapter 32, Notes (part I), 1950.
Box 7 Folder 3
Notes (part II), 1950.
Box 7 Folder 4

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