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Creator
Hobbes, John Oliver, 1867-1906
Call number
*T-Mss 1993-013
Physical description
.25 linear feet (1 box)
Preferred Citation

Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie Papers, *T-Mss 1993-013, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

Correspondence to Ms. Craigie documenting the production of some of her plays, most notably The Ambassador. Included as well are personal correspondence and business correspondence dealing with the publication of her books as well as theatrical productions of her work. The correspondence includes letters from many notable Victorians, including George Alexander, her producer, Henry James, Henry Irving and Ellen Terry.

Biographical/historical information

Novelist, playwright, and lecturer Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie (nee Richards) was born in Boston in 1867 and raised in England. She studied music in London and Paris and the classics at University College, London. At the age of nineteen she married Reginald Walpole Craigie. Their marriage was an unhappy one and in the end she sued for divorce, retaining custody of their five-year old son. Although an accomplished pianist, Mrs. Craigie turned to writing. Using the pen name John Oliver Hobbes, she wrote novels and then plays. Her best known books were The School for Saints and Robert Orange. Her first play, Journeys End in Lovers' Meeting, was performed in 1894 and starred Ellen Terry. Her most successful play was The Ambassador which opened in 1898 and featured Sir George Alexander, H.B. Irving, Violet Vanbrugh, Fay Davis and Kate Sargeantson. She was praised for her remarkable dialogue and her ability to satirize the social mores of the time.

Mrs. Craigie was also a well-known lecturer in both America and England. Her subjects were the arts, literature and the advancement of women.

She died quite suddenly of heart failure on August 13, 1906.

Scope and arrangement

The collection consists of correspondence documenting Mrs. Craigie's career. It includes letters discussing productions of some of her plays, mainly The Ambassador (1898); book publications; and plans for future productions as well as personal thank you notes. The correspondents, representing a cross-section of writers, actors, critics and nobility of the time, include F. C. Burnand, Edmund Gosse, Henry Arthur Jones, George Moore, Arthur Symonds, Henry James, J. M. Barrie, Henry Irving, H.B. Irving, Ellen Terry, Olga Nethersole, Violet Vanbrugh, George Alexander, members of the Churchill family, and Queen Mary, among others.

Arrangement

Alphabetical arrangement

Administrative information

Custodial history

The source of the Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie Papers is unknown.

Source of acquisition

Unknown, Unknown, 01/01/1992

Processing information

Processed by Susan McArthur.

Mrs. Craigie's papers have been part of the Theatre Collection for some time. They were rehoused and recataloged in 1993. The letters, in excellent condition, appear to have been removed from a scrapbook.

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.

Access restrictions

Photocopying prohibited.