Anita Desai:
A Preliminary Inventory of Her Papers in the Manuscript Collection at the Harry
Ransom Humanities Research Center
Descriptive Summary
Creator:
Desai, Anita, 1937-
Title:
Anita Desai Papers
Dates:
1958-1996
Extent:
18 boxes, 3 oversize boxes (10 linear feet)
Abstract:
Manuscripts for Anita Desai's published works make up a significant
portion of this collection, which also includes materials concerning
public appearances, awards, and writings about her works.
Language:
English, French, Italian, and Urdu
Access:
Open for research
Administrative Information
Acquisition:
Purchases, 1989-1997 (R11751, R12773, R13947)
Processed by:
Jonathan Reynolds, 2007
Repository:
The University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities
Research Center
Desai, Anita, 1937-
Scope and Contents
Manuscripts for Anita Desai's published works make up a significant portion of this
collection, which also includes materials concerning public appearances, awards, and
writings about her works. The collection is organized into two series: I. Works,
1958-1996; and II. Career Related Materials, 1962-1996.
The Works Series is divided into four subseries: A. Major Works, B. Short Stories, C.
Introductions and Prefaces, and D. Articles and Reviews, with items within the subseries
arranged alphabetically by title. Included are manuscripts and typescripts in various
stages of editing and revision, such as Desai’s award-winning novels Baumgartner’s
Bombay, Fire on the Mountain, Clear Light of Day and In Custody, the latter two of
which were short-listed for the Booker Prize in 1980 and 1984, respectively. In Custody
was also made into a film by Merchant Ivory Productions in 1993. The short stories
include works published as early as 1958, preceding her first novel by several years.
Desai’s work on introductions for books by authors from Anne Brontë to Salman
Rushdie and several articles addressing the treatment of women and children around the
world are also present. Correspondence directly related to her works has been
maintained with the respective work throughout the series and subsequently arranged
alphabetically by author.
The Career Related Material is also divided into four subseries: A. Speeches, Interviews,
Lectures, and Radio; B. Honors and Public Appearances; C. Articles and Reviews of
Desai; and D. Correspondence, Finances, and Other Papers. Included are materials from
the PEN International Writer's Day conference and the Flair Symposium, both from
1994. Present as well are her honorary degrees, in addition to publicity materials from
her awards, including the Royal Society of Literature Award in 1977, and clippings on
her works and career from around the world. Correspondence in this series is more
general and does not address any single work, and includes letters between Desai and
her first English publisher, Peter Owen. Her royalty statements and tax information are
also present along with subsequent correspondence.
The collection does not contain materials related to Desai's personal life or her career as
a professor.
Related Material
Additional Desai materials at the Ransom Center are present in the Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Records and the Peter Owen Ltd. Records.
2
Desai, Anita, 1937-
Series I. Works, 1958-1996
Subseries A. Major Works, 1965-1995
Baumgartner's Bombay (1988)
Box 1 Folder
Handwritten drafts
Folder 1-2
Folder
3-4
Typescript with author's revisions
Typescripts
Folder 5-6
Page proofs with corrections (*removed to oversize box 21)
Notes
Folder *
Box 2 Folder 1
Dust jacket proof
Folder 2
Screenplay by Gary Dvorkin
Folder 3
Correspondence
Folder 4
Bye-Bye, Blackbird (1968; a.k.a. "O England's Green and Grisly Land," a.k.a.
"Indians in London" )
Folder
1st handwritten draft
Folder 5
Handwritten draft with notes
Folder 6
Typescript
Folder 7
Typescript with notes
Folder 8
Dust jacket proof
Folder 9
Correspondence
Folder 10
Cat on a Houseboat (1976), handwritten draft, typescript, and correspondence
Clear Light of Day (1980) (a.k.a. "Summer Noon Sun" )
Folder
11
Folder
Folder
12
Handwritten draft in 5 notebooks
3
Desai, Anita, 1937Handwritten draft
Box 3 Folder 1
Typescript
Folder 2
Dust jacket proof
Folder 3
Correspondence
Folder 4-5
Cry, the Peacock (1963)
Folder
Handwritten draft
Folder 6
Dust jacket proof
Folder 7
Correspondence
Folder 8
Fire on the Mountain (1977)
Folder
Notes
Folder 9
Handwritten draft
Folder 10
Box 4
Folder
1
Handwritten draft in a notebook; also contains "2nd drafts of poems"
2 typescripts
Folder 2
Page proofs with revisions
Folder 3
Dust jacket proofs (1 for Swedish edition)
Folder 4
Correspondence
Folder 5-6
Games at Twilight and Other Stories (1978)
Folder
"Games at Twilight," handwritten draft and 3 typescripts
"Private Tuition by Mr. Bose," handwritten draft, 4 typescripts, published pages
from Indian Literature , and clipping from The Telegraph , 11 July 1992
"Studies in the Park," 2 handwritten drafts and 5 typescripts
4
Folder 7
Desai, Anita, 1937"Surface Textures," handwritten draft, 6 typescripts, and a screenplay
"Sale," 5 typescripts
"Pineapple Cake," 2 handwritten drafts and 3 typescripts
"The Accompanist," 2 handwritten drafts, 5 typescripts, and French version in Le
Serpent a Plumes , Autumn 1991
Folder
8
"A Devoted Son," 2 handwritten drafts and 6 typescripts
"The Farewell Party," 2 handwritten drafts and 5 typescripts
"Pigeons at Daybreak," 2 handwritten drafts and 4 typescripts
"Scholar and Gypsy," 3 handwritten drafts and 2 typescripts
Notes and dust jacket proofs
Folder 9
Correspondence
Folder 10
In Custody (1984)
Box 5 Folder
Handwritten draft with notes
Folder 1
2 typescripts with revisions
Folder 2-3
Notes for revisions
Folder 4
Typescript
Folder 5
Audio-book version
Folder 6
Dust jacket proofs
Folder 7
Screenplay (1993)
Folder
Film treatment
Folder
8
Handwritten and typescript draft
5
Desai, Anita, 1937Typescript with notes
Folder 9
Edited typescript, combination of drafts 1 and 2 with notes
Box 6
Folder 1
Draft 3 typescript
Folder 2
Urdu version, typescript
Folder
Draft 1
Folder 3
Draft 2
Folder 4
2 subtitles typescripts
Folder 5
Subtitles typescript with notes
Folder 6
Subtitles typescript with handwritten Urdu translation
Folder 7
2 synopses
Folder 8
Correspondence
Folder 9
Journey to Ithaca (1995)
Box 7 Folder
Notes, articles, clippings, and draft fragments
Folder 1
Notes in calendar
Folder 2
Handwritten draft in 3 notebooks
Folder 3
Typescript with revisions
Folder 4-5
Revised typescript
Folder 6
Revised typescript (continued)
Box 8 Folder 1
Notes for revisions
Folder 2
Dust jacket proofs (*oversize removed to box 19)
Correspondence
Folder 3*
Folder 4
The Peacock Garden (1974)
Folder
Handwritten draft
Folder 5
6
Desai, Anita, 19373 typescripts of earlier draft
Folder 6
Typescript of later draft
Folder 7
Illustrations and dust jacket proofs (*oversize removed to box 21)
Correspondence
Folder
8*
Folder 9
The Village by the Sea (1982) (a.k.a. "Coconut Days" )
Folder
Notes and map
Folder 10
Handwritten draft
Folder 11
Typescript with notes
Folder 12
BBC broadcast read by Saeed Jaffrey
Folder
13
Excerpt for Provincial Reviews Exam
Folder
14
Dust jacket proof
Box 9 Folder 1
Correspondence
Folder 2-3
Screenplay
Folder
Film treatment
1st handwritten draft
Folder 4
2nd handwritten draft and typescript
Folder 5
Notes on production
Folder 6
Folder
7
Original scripts of the 6 episodes
Correspondence
Folder 8
Voices in the City (1965)
Folder
"Abandoned" handwritten draft
Folder 9
7
Desai, Anita, 19371st handwritten draft
Folder 10
2nd handwritten draft
Folder 11
Dust jacket proof
Folder 12
Correspondence
Folder 13
Box 10
Folder
Where Shall We Go This Summer? (1975)
1st handwritten draft
Folder 1
2nd handwritten draft
Folder 2
2 typescripts
Folder 3
Dust jacket proof
Folder 4
Correspondence
Folder 5
Subseries B. Short Stories, 1958-1993
Folder
"After the Wedding," typescript
Folder 6
"Bound Feet" (1968), 2 handwritten drafts
"A Day in an Ashram," handwritten draft and research material
"Descent from the Roof-top" (1970), handwritten draft and 2 typescripts
"An Examination" (1960), 3 typescripts
"Frozen in Froya" (1993), notes, 2 handwritten drafts, typescript, and published
French version
"Ghost House" (1961), handwritten draft and 7 typescripts
"Grandmother" (1960), handwritten draft
"How Gentle is the Mist" (1958), 3 typescripts
8
Folder 7
Desai, Anita, 1937-
"Mr. Bose's Private Bliss" (1961), handwritten draft and 7 typescripts of 3 drafts
"Mr. Bose's Private Prayer" (1969), handwritten draft and 6 typescripts
"Poetry Reading in Bombay," typescript
"The Prisoner" (1974), 2 handwritten drafts and 5 typescripts
"The Red Cross Plane," 2 handwritten drafts and 3 typescripts
"Rohan's Magic Pictures," 2 handwritten drafts, 2 typescripts, and correspondence
"The Sun, the River, and a _____ Night," handwritten draft
Folder 8
"Threatened" (1974), 2 handwritten drafts and 3 typescripts
"To Sell a Picture" (1961), 2 handwritten drafts
Untitled, 4 handwritten drafts
Notes and fragments; lists of stories and publishers; and correspondence
Subseries C. Introductions and Prefaces, 1985-1996
Agnes Grey , by Anne Brontë (1990 edition), handwritten draft, typescript, and
correspondence (*page proofs removed to oversize box 21)
Eye to Eye , edited by Vanessa Baird (1996), notes, handwritten draft, typescript
with revisions, and typescript of final draft
The Home and the World , by Rabindranath Tagore (1985 edition), notes,
handwritten draft, and typescript
9
Folder
Folder
9*
Folder
10
Folder
11
Desai, Anita, 1937Midnight's Children , by Salman Rushdie (1995 edition), notes, 2 handwritten
drafts, 2 typescripts, and correspondence
Noon in Calcutta , edited by Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson (1992), notes,
handwritten draft, 3 typescripts, correspondence, and a dust jacket proof
Folder
12
Folder
13
Box 11
The Post Office , by Rabindranath Tagore (1996 edition), notes, 2 handwritten drafts,
Folder
typescript, copy of play, and correspondence with illustrations for publication
1
The Quilt and Other Stories , by Ismat Chughtai (1994 edition), notes, early and
later handwritten drafts, typescript, and correspondence with a book catalog
Rabindranath Tagore: Selected Short Stories , translated by Krishna Dutta and
Mary Lago (1991), 2 handwritten drafts, 3 typescripts, and a dust jacket proof
Folder
2
Folder
3
Sunlight on a Broken Column , by Attia Husain (1988 edition), 2 handwritten drafts,
Folder
typescript, and correspondence
4
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall , by Anne Brontë (1991 edition), handwritten draft and
typescript
The Turkish Embassy Letters , by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, edited by Malcolm
Jack (1993), notes on notepad, 3 handwritten drafts, typescript, correspondence, and
page proofs with revisions
Subseries D. Articles and Reviews by Desai, 1960-1996
Folder
5
Folder
6
Folder
Articles, 1969-1996
A-H
Folder 7
I-Z
Folder 8
"In Manggis," for UNICEF: State of the World's Children 1994 , 1st, 2nd, and
Folder
3rd handwritten drafts, 4 typescripts, notes, correspondence, and support material
9-10
"In Quest of Delhi’s Past" (published as "Echoes of a Princely Past in a Many
Layered City" ) for the New York Times (1989), 3 handwritten drafts, 2
typescripts, 2 computer printouts, and notes
10
Folder
11
Desai, Anita, 1937Box 12
"Raj Quartet," for the New Republic (1985), 3 handwritten drafts, correspondence,
Folder
and research materials
1
"Rajiv Gandhi," for LIFE (1985), notes, 3 handwritten drafts, and a profile of
Gandhi
"Women in Norway," for Women: A World Report (1985), 2 handwritten drafts,
typescript, support material, and correspondence
Untitled, 6 handwritten drafts
Folder
2
Folder
3
Folder 4
Reviews, 1960-1996
Folder
Folder
5
Notes for various reviews on a pad
A-E
Folder 6
F-I
Folder 7
J-R
Folder 8
S-Z
Box 13 Folder 1
Women Writing in India, Vol. 1 , edited by Susie Thara and K. Lalita, and Truth
Tales , edited by Kalie (1991), 3 handwritten drafts, 3 typescripts, 3 galley
proofs, notes, and correspondence
Women Writing in India, Vol. 2 , edited by Susie Thara and K. Lalita (1993),
handwritten draft, 2 typescripts, galley proof, and correspondence
11
Folder
2
Folder
3
Desai, Anita, 1937-
Series II. Career Related Materials, 1962-1996
Subseries A. Speeches, Interviews, Lectures, and Radio, 1982-1995
Acceptance speeches. Hadassah Magazine Prize, 1988, handwritten draft; University Box 13
of North London Honorary Degree, 1995, handwritten draft, correspondence, and
Folder
program
4
Interview by Feroza Jussawalla, October 1990, typescript and correspondence
Lectures
Folder 5
Folder
Various, handwritten drafts and typescripts
Edinburgh Book Festival, 1983, 2 typescripts, correspondence, and clippings
Flair Symposium, November 1994, handwritten draft, correspondence, and
conference materials
International Parliament of Writers, September 1994, typescript, conference
materials, invitation from Portuguese President Mario Soares, and clippings
Linea d'Ombra Associazione Italo-Britannica, March 1990. "Freedom and
Suppression," 2 handwritten drafts and typescript; "Wealth and Poverty,"
typescript; Correspondence and clippings in Italian
Neil Gunn International Fellowship, 1994, 3 handwritten drafts, 2 typescripts,
correspondence, conference materials, photographs, and clippings
PEN International Writer's Day, March 1994, 2 handwritten drafts, typescript,
notes, and conference materials
UNESCO Nordic Workshop, November 1982, typescript, correspondence and
photographs, conference materials, and open letter to the President of Kenya
about censorship
Version Française, October 1991, 2 handwritten drafts, conference material, and
invitation from French President François Mitterand
12
Folder 6
Folder
7
Folder
8
Folder
9
Folder
10
Folder
11
Folder
12
Box 14
Folder
1
Folder
2
Desai, Anita, 1937Radio broadcasts, handwritten drafts, typescripts, and correspondence
Subseries B. Honors and Public Appearances, 1977-1995
Folder 3
Folder
Honors
Booker McConnell Prize, 1980, invitations, press releases, correspondence, and
clippings
Harold U. Ribalow Prize, 1989, invitation
Folder
4
Folder 5
Royal Society of Literature Award, 1977, correspondence
University of Sussex Honorary Degree, 1994, itinerary, program,
correspondence, and photographs
Folder
6
Folder
7-8
Public appearances, 1985-1995
Conference materials, programs, itineraries, correspondence, and badges
Asian Short Story Competition Judging, 1982, notes, correspondence, and
clippings
Commonwealth Institute Seminar, July 1982, program, correspondence, and
clippings
Indo-U.S. Subcommission on Education and Culture Visitorship Program, 1984,
itinerary, flier, and correspondence
International Festival of Authors, 1987 & 1995, itinerary, flier, and list of
participants (*clippings removed to oversize box 20)
Folder
Folder
9
Folder
10
Folder
11
Folder
12*
Subseries C. Writings, Articles, and Reviews of Desai, 1963-1995
Box 15
13
Desai, Anita, 1937Autobiographical writings and publicity photographs, 9 handwritten drafts, 3
typescripts, and 12 photographs
Student theses, 5 typescripts
Box 15
Folder
1
Folder 2
"Clear Light of Day," by Laura Omaggi, bound typescript in Italian and transcript
Folder
of dissertation interview
3
Articles, clippings and photocopies (*oversize removed to box 20)
Articles in foreign languages, clippings and photocopies
Book catalogs, 1963-1995
Folder 4*
Folder 5-6
Folder 7
Reviews
Box 16 Folder
Baumgartner's Bombay
Clippings and photocopies
Folder 1-3
Radio broadcasts, 2 typescripts
Folder 4
Bye-Bye Blackbird , clippings
Folder 5
Clear Light of Day , clippings and photocopies
Cry, the Peacock
Folder 6-7
Box 17 Folder
Typescript and clippings
Folder 1
Scrapbook of clippings
Folder 2
Fire on the Mountain , clippings and photocopies
Games at Twilight , clippings and photocopies
In Custody
Folder 3
Folder 4
Folder
Folder
5
For novel, clippings and photocopies
Folder
14
Desai, Anita, 1937Folder
6
For film, clippings and photocopies
Journey to Ithaca , clippings and photocopies
Peacock Garden , clippings and photocopies
Village by the Sea , clippings and photocopies
Voices in the City , clippings and photocopies
Where Shall We Go this Summer? , clippings and photocopies
Oversize reviews, clippings and photocopies (*removed to box 20)
Subseries D. Correspondence, Finances, and Other Papers, 1962-1996
Folder 7
Folder 8
Box 18
Folder 1
Folder 2
Folder 3
Folder *
Folder
Correspondence
Outgoing, 1964-1996
Folder 4
Incoming, 1971-1995
Folder 5
Erdman, Joan, 1992
Folder 6
Peter Owen Ltd., 1962-1974
Folder 7
Third-party, 1963-1996
Folder 8
Financial papers and correspondence, 1963-1986
Other papers
Folder 9
Folder
Book catalogs; clippings; oversize poster of Revolving Routes , by Gulam
Mohammed Sheikh, 1981 (*removed to box 21)
Oversize materials
Folder
10*
Box 19-21
15