Collection ID: LMC 2015
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Thompson, James Maurice, 1844-1901
Abstract:
The Thompson, J.M. mss., 1873-1900, consist of correspondence and manuscripts of writings of James Maurice Thompson, 1844-1901, author.
Extent:
1 Box (1 standard)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Thompson, J.M. mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

James Maurice Thompson, 1844-1901, who wrote under the name Maurice Thompson, was an American author and naturalist known for his regionalist works.

Thompson was born in Fairfield, Indiana, the son of a Baptist minister, and was raised in Georgia. He served in the Confederate army from 1862 to 1865. He moved back north to Indiana in 1868, where he worked in railroad engineering, then law. In 1884 he gave up practicing law in favor of writing full-time.

Thompson's prose and poems appeared in magazines such as Appleton's, The Atlantic, Harper's, Independent, Lippincott, and Scribner's. His first book was Hoosier Mosaics (1875), a collection of dialect sketches. His prolific literary output includes nature books, collections of poems, and several romantic historical novels, the most popular of which was Alice of Old Vincennes (1900), which depicted Indiana during the Revolutionary War.

Scope and Content:

The Thompson, J.M. mss., 1873-1900, consist of correspondence and manuscripts of writings of James Maurice Thompson, 1844-1901, author. Included are also some letters to his wife, Mrs. Alice (Lee) Thompson.

The letters, 1873-1900, from Lewis Wallace, 1827-1905, author, relate to the publication of Wallace's The Fair God and comment on Thompson's The Tallahassee Girl, on his poems, and on William Dean Howells.

Thompson's letters, 1874-1900, to William Hayes Ward, 1835-1916, editor, refer to articles he submitted to The Independent and comment on Cuba, Puerto Rico tariff bill of 1900, and the federal election of 1900.

Thompson's letters, 1879, to the editors of St. Nicholas deal with A Prairie Home; and the letter, 1890, to Kinsley Twining, 1832-1901, concerns Sedgwick's Life and Letters.

The letters, 1883-1899, from Mrs. Susan Arnold (Elston) Wallace, (Mrs. Lewis Wallace), 1830-1907, poet, to Mrs. Thompson consist of a letter, December 3, 1883, describing a visit to Rome, and other friendly letters.

Manuscripts of Thompson's writings include Athanatos, A Creole Slave-song, An Early Blue-bird, Full-Fledged, In Santford's Pocket, A Prairie Home, A Song of the Mockingbird (To Provence), and A Song of the Mockingbird (To Sappho).

Acquisition information:
Gift. 1956.
Physical location:
Lilly - Stacks

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], Thompson, J.M. mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu