Materials contributed by Isabelle Holland between 1978 and 1984.
Non-circulating; available for research.
This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study, scholarship, or research." It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials, other than that noted above.
Isabelle Holland was born June 16, 1920 in Basel, Switzerland, where her father Philip was a U. S. Foreign Service officer. As a child she lived in Switzerland, Guatamala City and northern England. She attended private and boarding schools in England. Her mother, Corabelle Anderson Holland, told her stories from the Bible, history, mythology and novels. Holland began writing at an early age and, at 13, her story, "Naughty Betty," won a contest in a comic magazine called Tiger Tim.
Holland studied for two years at the University of Liverpool before World War II forced her to relocate to Tulane University where she completed requirements for the bachelor of arts degree in 1942. It was the first time she had lived in her native country.
After two years working for the U. S. War Department, Holland moved to New York City and began a twenty-five year career in the publishing industry. She first worked for several magazines, including McCall's. In 1956 she became publicity director for Crown Publishing, before moving to Lippincott in 1960, where she remained until 1966, when she became assistant to the publisher of Harper's in 1967. In 1968 and 1969 she was publicity director for G. P. Putnam's.
Her first novel, Cecily, originally written for an adult audience, was published by Lippincott in 1967 and was well received. Her sympathetic treatment of the child character in this novel led persons to influence her to write for children. In 1969 she left her publishing career to write full-time and followed up Cecily with a second novel, Amanda's Choice, in 1970, this one written specifically for children. She continued to write fiction, both for children and adults. Holland has authored seventeen adult novels, generally considered "well-written Gothic mysteries," and thirty-one children's books.
Her fiction for teenagers has garnered much praise and criticism. Zena Sutherland praised Holland for "the depth and polish of the writing style." Others praised her writing for its compassion, sensitive understanding of human nature, storytelling skill and psychological acumen. Many also praised her full development of characters, a device of great importance to Holland. Strong characterization, along with storytelling skill, distinguish her stories.
Holland normally writes in the first person about male and female protagonists who are flawed but sympathetic, often lonely and isolated, involved in painful family situations and emotional or psychological dramas. The parents in these novels are often characterized as selfish, self-absorbed, distant, alcoholic, or otherwise flawed. Holland puts the blame for her protagonists' problems on progressive schools and the permissive attitudes of uncaring parents, according to some critics. Some critics have called her works moralistic and fault her fiction for attempting to impose her own moral values on her readers. Her novels do have strong moral themes; however, Brigitte Weeks and other critics have asserted that her work is not didactic. Anita Moss wrote that Holland "skillfully imbeds social, psychological, and moral messages within believable dramatic situations" and that her books "celebrate the power of the human spirit to heal itself and to survive the most painful circumstances."
Holland's writing has not shied away from controversial topics. Her teen characters have confronted death, rape, rejection, homosexuality, and the dangers of hitchhiking. In The Man without a Face (1972), fourteen-year-old Charles Norstadt experiences a homosexual encounter with his tutor. Parents objected to Holland's sympathetic treatment of the homosexual tutor, while others praised her for her sensitive treatment of the characters. Of Love and Death and Other Journeys (1975) is generally considered her masterpiece. In this story, fifteen-year-old Meg leads an unconventional life in Europe with her mother and latest stepfather until her mother's cancer surgery and eventual death force her to confront loneliness, grief and her father.
Of Love and Death and Other Journeys was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1976, given by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Two other books, Abbie's God Book (1982) and God, Mrs. Muskrat and Aunt Dot (1983) won the Helen Keating Ott Award, given by the Church and Synagogue and Library Association for outstanding contributions to children's literature that promotes high moral and ethical values.
Holland also published short stories in Collier's and Country Gentleman and wrote under the pen name Francesca Hunt. Isabelle Holland passed away in 2002 in New York City, where she had lived for a number of years.
Sources:
Aside from selected correspondence to the de Grummond Collection, the Isabelle Holland Papers are comprised entirely of original materials for eleven of Holland's novels, published in the 1970s and 1980s. Only four of these are novels for children; the remainder are Holland's adult mysteries.
When his guardian aunt dies In Alan and the Animal Kingdom (1977), twelve-year-old Alan decides to tell no one and to preserve his collection of animal pets when he is sent to a new home. In Dinah and the Green Fat Kingdom (1978) a twelve-year-old girl deals with problems of being overweight by creating a fantasy world. In Hitchhike (1974), sixteen-year-old Pat becomes furious with her father for breaking a promise and decides to hitchhike home to teach him a lesson. She is kidnapped and narrowly escapes gang rape. Now is Not Too Late (1980) is the story of eleven-year-old Cathy's relationship with her grandmother. The remaining novels, A Death at St. Anselm's (1984), The DeMaury Papers (1977), Grenelle (1976), Kilgaren (1974), The Marchington Inheritance (1979), Tower Abbey (1978), and Trelawney (1974) are all mysteries in the Gothic novel tradition.
For each of the titles the collection holds final typescripts, edited and marked for the typesetter, as well as either galleys or page proofs or both. For two titles, Hitchhike and Dinah and the Green Fat Kingdom, the collection includes blueprints. Kilgaren also has designer's sketches for type and layout.
Box/Folder
A. Correspondence
1/1 To the de Grummond Collection, 1978, 1980, 4 items.
B. Books
ALAN AND THE ANIMAL KINGDOM by Isabelle Holland
(Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1977).
1/2 Style sheet, comments and queries, 3 pp.
1/3-1/10 Typescript, edited and marked for typesetter,
1/3 front matter, 4 pp.
1/4 chapter 1, pp. 1-25;
1/5 chapter 2, pp. 26-50;
1/6 chapter 3, pp. 51-69;
1/7 chapter 4, pp. 70-95;
1/8 chapter 5, pp. 96-113;
1/9 chapter 6, pp. 114-138;
1/10 chapter 7 and endmatter, pp. 139-170.
1/11-1/14 Page proofs, "master set, first pass," corrected, 11 October 1976,
1/11 front matter and chapters 1-2, pp. 3-49;
1/12 chapters 3-4, pp. 50-95;
1/13 chapters 5-6, pp. 96-143;
1/14 chapter 7, pp. 144-176.
1/15-1/18 Page proofs, "master set, second pass," corrected, 6 December 1976,
1/15 front matter and chapters 1-2, pp. 9-59;
1/16 chapters 3-4, pp. 60-107;
1/17 chapters 5-6, pp. 108-155;
1/18 chapter 7 and endmatter, pp. 156-191.
A DEATH AT ST. ANSELM'S by Isabelle Holland (New York:
Doubleday, 1984).
2/1-2/12 Typescript, marked for typesetter,
2/1 front matter and chapter 1, pp. 1-32;
2/2 chapter 2, pp. 33-67;
2/3 chapter 3, pp. 68-96;
2/4 chapter 4, pp. 96-123;
2/5 chapter 5, pp. 124-155;
2/6 chapter 6, pp. 156-184;
2/7 chapter 7, pp. 185-213;
2/8 chapter 8, pp. 214-240;
2/9 chapter 9, pp. 241-269;
2/10 chapter 10, pp. 270-299;
2/11 chapter 11, pp. 300-325;
2/12 chapter 12, pp. 326-373.
2/13-2/15 Typescript note, 1 p. with attachment;
Attachment: Page proofs, "reader's set, first reading,"
corrected, 19 August[1984],
2/13 front matter and chapters 1-4, pp. 1-77;
2/14 chapters 5-8, pp. 78-149;
2/15 chapter 9-12, pp. 150-229;
THE DEMAURY PAPERS by Isabelle Holland (New York: Rawson, 1977).
3/1-3/12 Typescript, edited and marked for typesetter,
3/1 front matter and chapter 1, pp. 1-34;
3/2 chapter 2, pp. 35-58;
3/3 chapter 3, pp. 59-87;
3/4 chapter 4, pp. 88-114;
3/5 chapter 5, pp. 115-151;
3/6 chapter 6, pp. 152-170;
3/7 chapter 7, pp. 171-200;
3/8 chapter 8, pp. 201-239;
3/9 chapter 9, pp. 240-280;
3/10 chapter 10, pp. 281-307;
3/11 chapter 11, pp. 308-348;
3/12 chapter 12, pp. 349-369.
4/1-4/6 Galleys, "master proof," corrected, 10 March 1977,
4/1 front matter and chapters 1-2, pp. 1-20;
4/2 chapters 3-4, pp. 21-39;
4/3 chapters 5-6, pp. 40-59;
4/4 chapters 7-8, pp. 60-82;
4/5 chapters 9-10, pp. 83-107;
4/6 chapters 11-12, pp. 108-130.
4/7-4/12 Galleys, "author's read set," edited,
4/7 front matter and chapters 1-2, pp. 1-20;
4/8 chapters 3-4, pp. 21-39;
4/9 chapters 5-6, pp. 40-59;
4/10 chapters 7-8, pp. 60-82;
4/11 chapters 9-10, pp. 83-107;
4/12 chapters 11-12, pp. 108-130.
4/13-4/20 Galleys, "repro reading set," marked by the author,
4/13 front matter and pp. 1-39;
4/14 pp. 40-79;
4/15 pp. 80-119;
4/16 pp. 120-159;
4/17 pp. 160-199;
4/18 pp. 200-239;
4/19 pp. 240-279;
4/20 pp. 280-326.
DINAH AND THE GREEN FAT KINGDOM by Isabelle Holland
(Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1978).
5/1-5/7 Typescript, edited and marked for typesetter, 23 August 1978,
5/1 front matter and chapter 1, pp. 1-22;
5/2 chapter 2, pp. 23-49;
5/3 chapter 3, pp. 50-74;
5/4 chapter 4, pp. 75-99;
5/5 chapter 5, pp. 100-128;
5/6 chapter 6, pp. 129-159;
5/7 chapter 7 and end matter, pp. 160-179.
5/8-5/11 Page proofs, "master set, first pass," 26 August 1978,
5/8 front matter and chapters 1-2, pp. 1-45;
5/9 chapters 3-4, pp. 46-93;
5/10 chapters 5-6, pp. 94-155;
5/11 chapters 7 and end matter, pp. 156-175.
5/12-5/15 Page proofs, "master set, second pass," 20 September 1978,
5/12 front matter and chapters 1-2, pp. 9-55;
5/13 chapters 3-4, pp. 56-105;
5/14 chapters 5-6, pp. 106-169;
5/15 chapter 7, pp. 170-192.
5/16-5/17 Blueprint in six signatures, corrected and marked for printer, 25
October 1978,
5/16 front matter and pp. 9-96;
5/17 pp. 97-189 and end matter.
GRENELLE: A NOVEL OF SUSPENSE by Isabelle Holland
(New York: Rawson Associates, 1976),
6/1-6/9 Typescript, edited and marked for typesetter,
6/1 front matter and chapter 1, pp. 1-23;
6/2 chapter 2, pp. 24-57;
6/3 chapter 3, pp. 58-86;
6/4 chapter 4, pp. 87-114;
6/5 chapter 5, pp. 115-154;
6/6 chapter 6, pp. 155-190;
6/7 chapter 7, pp. 191-221;
6/8 chapter 8, pp. 222-256;
6/9 chapter 9, pp. 257-282.
7/1-7/4 Galleys, "author's set,"
7/1 pp. 1-20;
7/2 pp. 21-40;
7/3 pp. 41-60;
7/4 pp. 61-87;
7/5-7/9 Galleys, "author's set, pages,"
7/5 front matter and pp. 3-54;
7/6 pp. 55-114;
7/7 pp. 115-174;
7/8 pp. 175-234;
7/9 pp. 235-268.
Also stored in Box 7: Oversize items from folders 11/11-16 and
13/7-12.
HITCHHIKE by Isabelle Holland (New York: Dell, 1974).
8/1-8/6 Typescript, edited and marked for typesetter,
8/1 front matter and chapter 1, pp. 1-21;
8/2 chapter 2, pp. 22-49;
8/3 chapter 3, pp. 50-75;
8/4 chapter 4, pp. 76-91;
8/5 chapter 5, p. 92-112;
8/6 chapter 6, pp. 113-127.
8/7-8/9 Galleys, "master set," corrected, 28 March 1977,
8/7 front matter and pp. 4-25;
8/8 pp. 26-50;
8/9 pp. 51-81;
8/10-8/11 Page proofs, "master set," corrected,
8/10 front matter and pp. 1-75;
8/11 pp. 76-157 and dust jacket flap.
8/12-8/13 Blueprint in six signatures, corrected, 28 June [1977],
8/12 front matter and pp. 9-96;
8/13 pp. 97-128 (2 sets) and 129-157.
KILGAREN: A NOVEL OF SUSPENSE by Isabelle Holland
(New York: Weybright and Talley, 1974).
9/1 Designer's sketches for type and layout, photocopies, 6 pp.
9/2-9/8 Typescript, edited and marked for typesetter,
9/2 front matter and chapters 1-2, pp. 1-24;
9/3 chapters 3-4, pp. 25-63;
9/4 chapters 5-6, pp. 64-114;
9/5 chapters 7-8, pp. 115-151;
9/6 chapters 9-10, pp. 152-194;
9/7 chapters 11-12, pp. 195-233;
9/8 chapter 13, pp. 234-250.
9/9-9/11 Page proofs, "master set," corrected,
9/9 front matter and pp. 1-75;
9/10 pp. 75-149;
9/11 pp. 150-251.
THE MARCHINGTON INHERITANCE: A NOVEL OF SUSPENSE
by Isabelle Holland (New York: Rawson, Wade, 1979).
10/1-10/10 Typescript, edited and marked for typesetter,
10/1 front matter and chapter 1, pp. 1-32;
10/2 chapter 2, pp. 33-59;
10/3 chapter 3, pp. 60-87;
10/4 chapter 4, pp. 88-126;
10/5 chapter 5, pp. 127-160;
10/6 chapter 6, pp. 161-203;
10/7 chapter 7, pp. 204-247;
10/8 chapter 8, pp. 248-280;
10/9 chapter 9, pp. 281-325;
10/10 chapter 10, pp. 326-370.
11/1-11/5 Galleys, "master proof, author's galleys," corrected, 1 March 1979,
11/1 front matter and chapters 1-2, pp. 6-30;
11/2 chapters 3-4, pp. 31-57;
11/3 chapters 5-6, pp. 58-88;
11/4 chapters 7-8, pp. 89-119;
11/5 chapters 9-10, pp. 120-158.
NOW IS NOT TOO LATE by Isabelle Holland (New York: Lothrop,
Lee & Shepard, 1980).
11/6-11/10 Typescript, edited and marked for typesetter,
11/6 chapters 1-2, pp. 1-34;
11/7 chapters 3-4, pp. 35-78;
11/8 chapters 5-6, pp. 79-117;
11/9 chapters 7, pp. 118-151;
11/10 chapter 8, pp. 152-187.
11/11-11/12 Galleys, "master set," corrected,
11/11 chapters 1-4, pp. 1-23;
11/12 chapters 5-8, pp. 24-54. [Folders 11/11 - 12 oversize -
stored in Box 7]
11/13-11/16 Galleys, corrected,
11/13 front matter and chapters 1-3, pp. 5-51;
11/14 chapters 4-5, pp. 52-85;
11/15 chapters 6-7, pp. 102-129;
11/16 chapter 8, pp. 131-159;
typescript endmatter, 1 p. [Folders 11/13 - 16 oversize -
stored in Box 7]
TOWER ABBEY: A NOVEL OF SUSPENSE by Isabelle Holland
(New York: Rawson, 1978).
12/1-13/6 Typescript, edited and marked for typesetter,
12/1 front matter, 7 pp.
12/2 chapter 1, pp. 1-30;
12/3 chapter 2, pp. 31-49;
12/4 chapter 3, pp. 50-77;
12/5 chapter 4, pp. 78-105;
12/6 chapter 5, pp. 106-132;
12/7 chapter 6, pp. 106-132;
12/8 chapter 7, pp. 167-191;
12/9 chapter 8, pp. 192-221;
12/10 chapter 9, pp. 222-251;
12/11 chapter 10, pp. 252-286;
12/12 chapter 11, pp. 287-313;
13/1 chapter 12, pp. 314-339;
13/2 chapter 13, pp. 340-368;
13/3 chapter 14, pp. 369-402;
13/4 chapter 15, pp. 403-430;
13/5 chapter 16, pp. 431-456;
13/6 chapter 17, pp. 457-477.
13/7-13/12 Galleys, "author's proof, marked set,"
13/7 front matter and pp. 1-20;
13/8 pp. 21-40;
13/9 pp. 41-60;
13/10 pp. 61-80;
13/11 pp. 81-100;
13/12 pp. 101-112. [Folders 13/7-12 oversize-stored in Box 7]
TRELAWNEY: A NOVEL OF SUSPENSE by Isabelle Holland
(New York: Weybright and Talley, 1974).
13/13-14/4 Typescript, edited and marked for typesetter,
13/13 front matter and chapter 1, pp. 1-38;
13/14 chapter 2, pp. 39-68;
13/15 chapter 3, pp. 69-104A;
13/16 chapter 4, pp. 105-134;
13/17 chapter 5, pp. 135-166;
13/18 chapter 6, pp. 167-201;
14/1 chapter 7, pp. 202-232;
14/2 chapter 8, pp. 233-257;
14/3 chapter 9, pp. 258-[292].
14/4 pasteboard, annotated.
14/5 Galleys, front matter and chapter numbers, 3 pp.
14/6-14/10 Galleys, "master proof,"
14/6 front matter and chapters 1-2, pp. 1-38;
14/7 chapters 3-4, pp. 39-77;
14/8 chapters 5-6, pp. 78-115;
14/9 chapter 7-8, pp. 116-146;
14/10 chapter 9, pp. 147-164.
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