John Cheever Literary Manuscripts
Brandeis University Libraries, Robert D. Farber University
Archives & Special Collections Department
c. 1998 By Brandeis University Libraries, all rights reserved
Table of Contents
| Creator: |
John
Cheever
|
| Title: |
Literary Manuscripts,
1935-1963
|
| Identification: |
MWalB00002 |
| Quantity: |
2 linear
ft
|
| Repository: |
Brandeis University Libraries |
Access:
Access to the collection is in accordance with the policies of
Brandeis University Libraries, Robert D. Farber University Archives &
Special Collections Department.
Copyright:
Requests to publish material from the collection should be directed
to the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections
Department.
Processed by:
S. Pyzynski, 1998
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Biography
John Cheever was born May 27, 1912 in
Quincy, Massachusetts. He was expelled from Thayer
Academy at the age of seventeen, and thereafter made his living as a writer
until he died. He took pride in the fact that he never received a regular
paycheck in his life.
Cheever sold his first story,
Expelled, to
The New Republic at the age of eighteen. He sent the 1930s
living in New York writing and publishing his short stories as he developed his
distinctive writing style. In 1941 he married
Mary Winternitz and soon after that World War II
began. Cheever joined the Army but was assigned stateside due to his writing
skills. In 1943 the Cheevers' daughter Susan was born, followed in 1948 by a
son Benjamin and in 1956 by another son Federico.
In 1943 Cheever's first book of collected short stories was published,
The Way Some People Live. The Cheevers moved to
Scarborough, New York in the early 1950s. In 1958 he
published his first novel
The Wapshot Chronicle which won the National Book Award.
The other awards he received were a Guggenheim, the Pulitzer Prize for
Literature and a National Book Award.
John Cheever had a prolific and distinguished writing career despite a
long bout of alcoholism and problems with depression. He interacted with some
of the great writers of his time, such a
Saul Bellow and
John Updike.He died from cancer on June 18, 1982.
Collins, R.G. Critical Essays on John Cheever. Boston, MA: G.K.
Hall, 1982.Donaldson, Scott. John Cheever: a Biography. New York: Random
House, 1988.
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Scope and Content
The collection contains the manuscripts of 88 short stories, many of
which were published for the first time in the
New Yorker magazine. Also included in the collection are
the manuscripts for Cheever's first three published novels. The collection is
arraned in two series: first, short stories alphabetically, second, the novels
chronologically. This collection shows Cheever's creative talent at work, the
amount of revision and editing he did during the process of writing his short
stories and novels.
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Cataloging Entries
The following catalog entries provide controlled subject access to the
collection. All these entries are searchable in the Brandeis University
libraries' on-line catalog LOUIS to find materials of related interest.
Cheever, John. Wapshot
scandal.
Cheever, John. Wapshot
chronicle.
Cheever, John. Short
stories. Selections.
Cheever, John. Bullet
park.
Cheever,
John--Manuscripts.
Authors,
American--Manuscripts.
American literature--20th
century--Manuscripts.
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Series Description
Series I.
Short Stories
1935-1963
This series consists of the annotated typescripts to 88 short
stories.
Series II.
Novels
This series consists of the final draft to
The Wapshot Chronicle, the early drafts, final draft
and printer's proofs to
The Wapshot Scandal, and the typescript to
Bullet Park. Also includes a couple of miscellaneous
items; some journal writings and a nineteenth-century story by George Barrell
Cheever, perhaps an ancestor of Cheever's.
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Container List
| Short stories |
| folder 1.1 |
The Angel on the Bridge, October 21, 1961 |
| folder 1.2 |
The Beautiful Mountains, February 8, 1947 |
| folder 1.3 |
The Bella Lingua, March 1, 1958 |
| folder 1.4 |
[The Bella Lingua, fragment of early
version]
|
| folder 1.5 |
The Brigadier and the Golf Widow, November 11, 1961 |
| folder 1.6 |
Brooklyn Rooming House, May 25, 1935 |
| folder 1.7 |
Buffalo, March 21, 1935 |
| folder 1.8 |
The Bus to St. James's, January 14, 1956 |
| folder 1.9 |
The Chaste Clarissa, June 14, 1952 |
| folder 1.10 |
The Children, September 6, 1952 |
| folder 1.11 |
The Chimera, July 1, 1961 |
| folder 1.12 |
Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor, December 24, 1949 |
| folder 1.13 |
Clancy in the Tower of Babylon, March 24, 1951 |
| folder 1.14 |
Clementina, May 7, 1960 |
| folder 1.15 |
The Common Day, August 2, 1947 |
| folder 1.16 |
The Country Husband, November 20, 1954 |
| folder 1.17 |
The Day the Pig Fell into the Well, October 23, 1954 |
| folder 1.18 |
Dear Lord We Thank Thee for Thy Bounty, November 27, 1943 |
| folder 1.19 |
The Duchess, December 13, 1958 |
| folder 1.20 |
The Embarkment for Cythera, November 3, 1962 |
| folder 1.21 |
The Enormous Radio, May 17, 1947 |
| folder 1.22 |
The Five-forty-eight, April 10, 1954 |
| folder 1.23 |
Forever Hold Your Peace, November 23, 1940 |
| folder 1.24 |
The Golden Age, September 26, 1959 |
| folder 1.25 |
Goodbye My Brother, August 25, 1951 |
| folder 1.27 |
Happy Birthday, Enid, July 13, 1940 |
| folder 1.28 |
The Hartleys, January 22, 1949 |
| folder 1.29 |
Hello, Dear, February 15, 1941 |
| folder 1.30 |
The Housebreaker of Shady Hill, April 14, 1956 |
| folder 1.31 |
Independence Day at St. Botolph's (from the Wapshot
Chronicle) July 3, 1954
|
| folder 1.32 |
In the Eyes of God, October 11, 1941 |
| folder 1.33 |
The International Wilderness, April 6, 1963 |
| folder 1.34 |
The Invisible Ship, August 7, 1943 |
| folder 1.35 |
It's Hot In Egypt, January 6, 1940 |
| folder 1.36 |
Journal of an Old Gent, February 18, 1956 |
| folder 1.37 |
Just One More Time, October 8, 1955 |
| folder 1.38 |
Just Tell Me Who It Was, April 16, 1955 |
| folder 1.39 |
Keep the Ball Rolling, May 29, 1948 |
| folder 1.40 |
The Law of the Jungle, March 22, 1941 |
| folder 1.41 |
Love in the Islands, December 7, 1946 |
| folder 1.42 |
The Lowboy, October 10, 1959 |
| folder 1.43 |
Manila, July 28, 1945 |
| folder 1.44 |
The Man Who Was Very Homesick for New York,
November 21, 1942
|
| folder 1.45 |
Marito in Citta, July 4, 1964 |
| folder 1.46 |
Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin, April 27, 1963 |
| folder 1.47 |
[Metamorphoses], March 2, 1963 |
| folder 1.48 |
Miss Wapshot (from the Wapshot Chronicles),
September 22, 1956
|
| folder 1.49 |
The Mouth of the Turtle, November 11, 1944 |
| folder 1.50 |
The Music Teacher, November 21, 1959 |
| folder 1.51 |
My Friends and Neighbors All, Farewell, October 2, 1943 |
| folder 2.1 |
The National Pastime, September 26, 1953 |
| folder 2.2 |
The New World, November 9, 1940 |
| folder 2.3 |
North of Portland, February 24, 1940 |
| folder 2.4 |
The Ocean, July 31, 1963 |
| folder 2.5 |
Oh City of Broken Dreams, January 24, 1948 |
| folder 2.6 |
Oh Youth and Beauty! August 22, 1953 |
| folder 2.7 |
Paola, July 26, 1958 |
| folder 2.8 |
The People You Meet, December 2, 1950 |
| folder 2.9 |
The Peril in the Streets, March 21, 1942 |
| folder 2.10 |
A Picture for the Home, November 28, 1936 |
| folder 2.11 |
A Place of great Historical Interest, February 21, 1942 |
| folder 2.12 |
Play a March, June 20, 1936 |
| folder 2.13 |
The Pleasures of Solitude, January 24, 1942 |
| folder 2.14 |
The Pot of Gold, October 14, 1950 |
| folder 2.15 |
Problem No. 4, October 17, 1942 |
| folder 2.16 |
Publick House, August 16, 1941 |
| folder 2.17 |
Reunion, October 27, 1962 |
| folder 2.18 |
Riding Stable, April 27, 1940 |
| folder 2.19 |
Roseheath, August 16, 1947 |
| folder 2.20 |
Run, Sheep, Run, August 2, 1941 |
| folder 2.21 |
The Scarlet Moving Van, March 21, 1959 |
| folder 2.22 |
The Seaside Houses, July 29, 1961 |
| folder 2.23 |
The Season of Divorce, March 4, 1960 |
| folder 2.24 |
Sargeant Limeburner, March 13, 1942 |
| folder 2.25 |
The Shape of a Night, April 18, 1942 |
| folder 2.26 |
The Single Purpose of Leon Burrows, October 7, 1944 |
| folder 2.27 |
Somebody Has to Die, June 24, 1944 |
| folder 2.28 |
Some People, Places and Things That Will Not Appear in
My Next Novel, November 12, 1960
|
| folder 2.29 |
The Sorrows of Gin, December 12, 1953 |
| folder 2.30 |
The Summer Farmer, August 7, 1948 |
| folder 2.31 |
Summer Theatre, August 24, 1940 |
| folder 2.32 |
Superintendent, May 29, 1952 |
| folder 2.33 |
Survivor, April 9, 1940 |
| folder 2.34 |
The Sutton Place Story, June 29, 1946 |
| folder 2.35 |
[The Swimmer] |
| folder 2.36 |
A Tale of Old Pennsylvania, May 29, 1943 |
| folder 2.37 |
The Temptations of Emma Boynton, November 26, 1949 |
| folder 2.38 |
There They Go, July 19, 1941 |
| folder 2.39 |
These Tragic Years, September 27, 1941 |
| folder 2.40 |
They Shall Inherit the Earth, August 10, 1942 |
| folder 2.41 |
Tomorrow is a Beautiful Day, August 3, 1940 |
| folder 2.42 |
Town House [I]April 21, 1945 |
| folder 2.43 |
Town House II,August 11, 1945 |
| folder 2.44 |
Town House III,November 10, 1945 |
| folder 2.45 |
Town House IV, January 5, 1946 |
| folder 2.46 |
Town House V, March 16, 1946 |
| folder 2.47 |
Town House VI, April 4, 1946 |
| folder 2.48 |
Torch Song, October 4, 1947 |
| folder 2.49 |
The Traveler, December 9, 1961 |
| folder 2.50 |
The Trouble of Marcie Flint, November 9, 1951 |
| folder 2.51 |
A Vision of the World, September 29, 1962 |
| folder 2.52 |
Washington Boarding House, March 23, 1940 |
| folder 2.53 |
When Grandmother Goes, December 14, 1940 |
| folder 2.54 |
A Woman Without a Country, December 12, 1959 |
| Novels |
| folder 3.1 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Preliminary
pages and mark-ups, 11 p.
|
| folder 3.2 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters 1-2,
pp. 1-15
|
| folder 3.3 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters 3-4,
pp. 16-30
|
| folder 3.4 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters 5-6,
pp. 31-50
|
| folder 3.5 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters 7-8,
pp. 51-75
|
| folder 3.6 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
9-10, pp. 76-88
|
| folder 3.7 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
11-13, pp. 89-108
|
| folder 3.8 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
14-15, pp. 109-123
|
| folder 3.9 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
16-17, pp. 124-146
|
| folder 3.10 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
18-19, pp. 147-175
|
| folder 3.11 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
20-22, pp. 176-193
|
| folder 3.12 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
23-24, pp. 194-212
|
| folder 3.13 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
25-26, pp. 213-227
|
| folder 3.14 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
27-28, pp. 228-253
|
| folder 3.15 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapter 29,
pp. 244-263
|
| folder 3.16 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
30-31, pp. 263-274
|
| folder 3.17 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
32-33, pp. 275-292
|
| folder 3.18 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapter 34,
pp. 293-307
|
| folder 3.19 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapter 35
(beginning), pp. 308-329
|
| folder 3.20 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapter 35
(end), pp. 330-352
|
| folder 3.21 |
Wapshot Chronicle (final corrected draft), Chapters
36-37, pp. 354-365
|
| folder 4.1 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 14 p. |
| folder 4.2 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.3 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.4 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.5 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.6 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 15 p. |
| folder 4.7 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), [Chap. 1] - Christmas
Eve in St. Botolph's (published searately December 23, 1961) 14 p.
|
| folder 4.8 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.9 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 19 p. |
| folder 4.10 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapters 5-6, 20
p.
|
| folder 4.11 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [8] and [?], 22
p.
|
| folder 4.12 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [14], 7
p.
|
| folder 4.13 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [15], 3
p.
|
| folder 4.14 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [16], 5
p.
|
| folder 4.15 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [20], 5
p.
|
| folder 4.16 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [18], 13
p.
|
| folder 4.17 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [28], 5
p.
|
| folder 4.18 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [22], 17
p.
|
| folder 4.19 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [32], 8
p.
|
| folder 4.20 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 22 p. |
| folder 4.21 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [19], 11
p.
|
| folder 4.22 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [29, etc.], 20
p.
|
| folder 4.23 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 11 p. |
| folder 4.24 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter 4 (i.e., 6),
Chapter 5, Chapter 6 (?), 25 p.
|
| folder 4.25 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [31] etc., 20
p.
|
| folder 4.26 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.27 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.28 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.29 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 15 p. |
| folder 4.30 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [29], 7
p.
|
| folder 4.31 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [27], 16
p.
|
| folder 4.32 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [19-21], 31
p.
|
| folder 4.33 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 4 p. |
| folder 4.34 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 3 p. |
| folder 4.35 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [30], 3
p.
|
| folder 4.36 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), Chapter [15], 3
p.
|
| folder 4.37 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.38 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.39 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.40 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.41 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 20 p. |
| folder 4.42 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 17 p. |
| folder 4.43 |
Wapshot Scandal (early drafts), 13 p. |
| folder 5.1 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), preliminary
pages and mark-ups, 24 p.
|
| folder 5.2 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 1, pp.
1-15
|
| folder 5.3 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 2-3,
pp. 16-32
|
| folder 5.4 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 4-5,
pp. 33-54
|
| folder 5.5 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 6-7,
pp. 55-81
|
| folder 5.6 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 8-9,
pp. 82-96
|
| folder 5.7 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 10-11,
pp. 97-117
|
| folder 5.8 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 12-13,
pp. 118-128
|
| folder 5.9 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 14-15,
pp. 129-140
|
| folder 5.10 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 16-17,
pp. 140-165
|
| folder 5.11 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 18, pp.
167-180
|
| folder 5.12 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 19, pp.
181-202
|
| folder 5.13 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 20-21,
pp. 203-212
|
| folder 5.14 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 22-23,
pp. 213-235
|
| folder 5.15 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 24-25,
pp. 236-247
|
| folder 5.16 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 26-27,
pp. 248-267
|
| folder 5.17 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 28-29,
pp. 268-289
|
| folder 5.18 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 30-31,
pp. 290-304
|
| folder 5.19 |
Wapshot Scandal (final corrected draft), Chapter 32, pp.
305-314
|
| folder 6.1 |
Wapshot Scandal (printer's proofs), 8 p., August 29, 1963 |
| folder 6.2 |
Wapshot Scandal (printer's proofs), 109 p.,
September 27, 1963
|
| folder 6.3 |
Wapshot Scandal (printer's proofs), 105 p.,
October 27, 1963
|
| folder 6.4 |
Wapshot Scandal (printer's proofs), 1 p., October 22, [1963] |
| folder 7.1 |
Bullet Park I , 79 p. |
| folder 7.2 |
Bullet Park II, 106 p. |
| folder 7.3 |
[Journal], 31 p. |
| folder 7.4 |
Cheever, George Barrell;The Dream; or, The True History of Deacon Giles'
Distillery. New York, 1859.
|
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