Literary Papers and Correspondence of Charles Montagu Slater, 1929-1976

Charles Montagu Slater (1902-1956) was born in Millom, Cumberland in 1902. He won a scholarship to Oxford and, following his graduation, began a career as a reporter for the Liverpool Post. He was active in local politics and joined the newly-formed Communist Party in about 1927. His commitment to Communism is reflected in his literary work, which was particularly productive during the 1930s. He became editor of 'Left Review' and wrote theatre criticism as well as plays, poems, short stories and film scripts. He worked with Benjamin Britten in the 1930s, a partnership best known for the Peter Grimes libretto in 1945.

Material is divided according to form (e.g. prose, poetry) and listed chronologically within sections, arranged by title where possible.

Accessible to all readers.

Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus: Typescript Catalogue to item level, 22 pp

At the National Register of Archives, The National Archives, Kew: Typescript Catalogue to item level, 22 pp

Online:

Catalogue available through the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections, Manuscripts Online Catalogue.

Access to the old typescript catalogue was also made available online during the national Access to Archives (A2A) project in 2000-2004. This catalogue is now available through Discovery, hosted by The National Archives (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk). The version on our own Manuscripts Online Catalogue will be more up to date.

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

The papers were formerly held by Arnold Rattenbury who sorted them and drew on them for his article 'Poems by Montagu Slater' in Renaissance and Modern Studies, xx (1976), 120-136. They were subsequently transferred to the University library in 1985. They constitute a separate archive within the larger gathering of Twentieth-Century Theatre Papers (Tw T).