Extensive journals, correspondence, some later stories in draft, and various material of biographical interest including photographs of Upward. This collection complements the Upward papers at Add MS 72688-72702.
Of particular note are Upward's extensive journals, which are continuous from 1924 to 2002, and documents and notebooks that shed light on the development of the author's political commitment, including his visit to the U.S.S.R. in 1932, following which he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain. The collection also includes documents relating to Upward's subsequent resignation (and the resignation of his wife, Hilda) from the Party in 1948.
There is a single 'Mortmere' notebook, which contains exclusively drafts of Upward's poem 'Biography of a Scholar', subsequently published (1994) as 'Tale of a Scholar'. The remaining pages of the notebook have been torn out.
Whilst most of the letters in the collection derive from Upward's later years - when, upon completion of the trilogy The Spiral Ascent (1977), he returned to writing short fiction and his career was subject to renewed critical attention - there are some letters of earlier date, including letters from Stephen Spender and from Christopher Isherwood. Also included is a group of 46 personal letters (1932-37) to Shirley Munro (addressed as 'Jane').