Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Norman, Frank
- Abstract:
- The Norman mss. III, ca. 1958–1983, consist of scripts, music scores, manuscript fragments, proofs, publications, photographs, and programs of plays of the work of Frank Norman, including materials relating to Fings Ain't Wot The Used T'be, Bang to Rights, and Dodgem Greaser.
- Extent:
- 16 Boxes and 6 folios (oversize)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Norman mss. III, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Frank Norman, 1930-1980, was a British playwright and novelist. An illegitimate son, he was born in Bristol and grew up in children's homes in London, including Dr. Barnardo's children's home from age 7 to 15. He spent time in prison for petty thefts, including a 3-year sentence at Camp Hill Prison. After his release in 1956, he began driving a van while working on a prison memoir, Bang to Rights. This memoir was serialized in the magazine Encounter by Encounter editor Stephen Spender and was published as a standalone work with a foreword by Raymond Chandler in 1958. The book preserved Norman's spelling and grammar; Norman's education in the orphanages had been spotty, and he claimed to have been illiterate at age 14.
After the success of Bang to Rights, Norman began working on a play Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be (1960), which was developed into a musical and produced by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop and then transferred to the West End.
In addition to Bangs to Rights and Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be, Norman wrote novels; non-fiction; stage plays; a memoir of his time at Barnardo's, Banana Boy (1969); and an autobiography, Why Fings Went West (1975).
- Scope and Content:
The Norman mss. III, ca. 1958–1983, consist of scripts, music scores, manuscript fragments, proofs, publications, photographs, and programs of plays of the work of Frank Norman, including materials relating to Fings Ain't Wot The Used T'be, Bang to Rights, and Dodgem Greaser.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchase: 2007
- Arrangement:
This collection is arranged by topic (Writing, Press, Correspondence, Photographs, Audio, and Miscellaneous), then chronologically to the best of this author's ability. Original order was not discernable when surveying the collection originally and materials were scattered across 13 boxes. The articles series deviates from topic-chronology order due to the bulk of drafts being undated. This sub-series is arranged by alphabetical order of titles of the articles. Boxes 16 and 17 are materials acquired at a later date and were kept in their original order but represented within the corresponding sub-series in the inventory. Several items are out for conservation at the time of this note including posters, photographs, and newspaper clipping scrapbooks. Several of these and two other items are oversized and noted as such accordingly. While most photographs are together in Box 14, four folders of photographs are kept in box 4 because they were curated for a book Frank did not get to finish writing before his passing in 1980.
- Physical location:
- ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility); ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility) - OVFlat
Indexed Terms
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Norman mss. III, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
1200 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
(812) 855-2452liblilly@indiana.edu