Correspondence from Alan Sillitoe (born 1928), novelist and playwright, to his nephew, Patrick Cawkwell, (fl 1968-1991), 1968-1991

The collection comprises a sequence of correspondence from Alan Sillitoe to his nephew Patrick Cawkwell, dating from 1968 to 1991. The 23 letters provide advice to Cawkwell on writing novels as well as giving details of Sillitoe's activities and the places to which he had travelled. The collection also includes a letter from Tony Gaughan to Patrick Cawkwell, perhaps sent by Cawkwell to Sillitoe.

Alan Sillitoe was born in 1928 in Nottingham, the son of a tannery labourer. At the age of fourteen Sillitoe left school and worked in a number of jobs in Nottingham factories. He then served in the Royal Air Force, as a wireless operator. He was sent to Malaya, and on his return was discovered to have tuberculosis. Sillitoe spent sixteen months in a RAF hospital, and during this period, he began to write and read intensively. He was pensioned off at the age of 21 and then spent seven years living in France and Spain to assist his recovery. Sillitoe married Ruth Fainlight, an American poet, in 1959.

Alan Sillitoe has written more than 50 books including novels, plays, poetry, travel pieces, children's books and over 400 essays. Encouraged by Robert Graves, Alan Sillitoe decided to write his first novel, The Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (London: W.H. Allen, 1958). A year later, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (London: W.H. Allen, 1959), a collection of stories with which he won the Hawthornden Prize, was published; followed closely by his first book of verse, The Rats and Other Poems (London: W.H. Allen, 1960). Among Sillitoe's other acclaimed works are The Ragman's Daughter (London: W.H. Allen, 1963), A Start in Life (London: W.H. Allen, 1970), and Birthday (London: Harper Collins, 2002).

Sillitoe's nephew, Patrick Cawkwell, was living in Nottinghamshire during the period of the correspondence in this collection. The correspondence is in part concerned with Cawkwell's literary aspirations and advice from his uncle about publication. Cawkwell wrote at least two unpublished novels: a fantasy called 'Icecreamland', and 'Fanningtails'.

The letters in this collection have been arranged chronologically.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers.

LANGUAGE: English

This description is the only finding aid available for this collection. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

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

COPYRIGHT: Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but this is often difficult and responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the person wishing to publish.

The collection was acquired by The University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in 1992.