The archive consists mainly of manuscript drafts of several of Harold Blundell's detective stories in both handwritten and typed form. These are all undated, but relate to works published between the years 1966 and 1980, and include a script for the radio comedy The legacy, which was broadcast in 1951. The archive also contains material relating to his business affairs while a writer, including three files of agreements made with British and European publishing houses dated 1941-1974 as well as seven files of correspondence dated 1945-1978, which detail his relationship with many of his associates while he was a writer, including the publishing house, John Gifford Ltd, his literary agent in Paris, Jacques David, and the bookseller, W.G. Foyle Ltd of Charing Cross Road, London. A file of general correspondence includes more personal material amongst the business correspondence, such as letters from fans of his books as well as from friends congratulating him on his growing literary success. The collection also includes undated notebooks, files and other papers detailing extensive series of notes he made for both the many public lectures he made as well as for general literary research. Many of these relate to aspects of the Isle of Man and its people, particularly Manx history, geography and popular culture and folklore traditions, significant as several of his later books were set on the island. There is also a series consisting of bound and loose of press cuttings dated 1929-1966, containing profiles of the author, reviews of his works, and articles he submitted as a freelance journalist to newspapers such as the Manchester Guardian, as well as a file containing biographical information on Harold Blundell and the collection, and a series of undated black and white photographs of both the author and other subject matter.
The original deposit also includes a complete collection of first editions of Harold Blundell's literary works, many of them autographed and annotated, with some containing enclosed correspondence and other material. There are also translations of the novels into French, German and Spanish. The collection totals 149 volumes, and a list of works is available on request.