de Grummond Collection

McCain Library and Archives
University Libraries
University of Southern Mississippi



MOLLIE HUNTER PAPERS

Collection Number
Collection Dates
Collection Volume
DG0049
1966-1979
.60 cu.ft. (1 box)

Biographical Sketch | Scope & Content | Related Collections | Series & Subseries | Box Inventory

Provenance

Material received from Harper & Row in 1978 and 1980.

Restrictions

Non-circulating; available for research.

Copyright

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.


Biographical Sketch

Maureen Mollie Hunter McIlwraith, whose pen name is Mollie Hunter, was born in Longniddry, East Lothian, Scotland, on June 30, 1922. She attended Preston Lodge School in East Lothian, and married Thomas McIlwraith in 1940. Hunter lectured in the United States in 1975, delivering the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1976, she toured New Zealand at the request of the British Council, the International Reading Association and educational authorities of New Zealand and Australia. She was writer-in-residence at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1980 and 1981, and a teacher of creative writing at the Aberlour Summer School for Gifted Children in 1987.

Hunter has published a book about her experiences writing children's fiction, several plays, stories in anthologies, and articles in numerous newspapers and magazines. She is best known for her more than 25 novels for children and young adults. Hunter consistently attempts to incorporate a life-long exploration of Scotland's folklore and history into her tales. Her fiction, she believes, falls into three categories: fantasy for the younger reader, historical novels for those in their early teens, and realistic novels for young adults. All three types reflect Hunter's idea that a writer's goal is to entertain as well as to express something of one's own philosophy.

Since she began her career as a writer in 1953, Hunter has received numerous awards and honors including the New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year Award in 1972 for The Haunted Mountain and A Sound of Chariots. A Stranger Came Ashore, was named the Boston Globe Horn Book Award Honor Book in 1976, and in 1975, The Stronghold was awarded the Carnegie Medal.

Sources:


Scope and Content

The collection contains correspondence, 1978, from Harper & Row to the de Grummond Collection and material relating to the publication of two of Hunter's novels published between 1966 and 1979. The material for the novels is arranged alphabetically by title; for each title, the organization of the material reflects the probable order in which it was generated (e.g., rough notes, typescript, galley, page proofs).

The Kelpie's Pearls, originally published in 1966 by Funk and Wagnalls, was published by Harper & Row in 1976. One of Hunter's favorite books, it is the tale of how Morag McLeod, a quiet woman from the hills, came to be known as the witch of Abriachan. The collection contains a photocopy of the 1966 Funk and Wagnalls edition, marked for typesetting by Harper & Row. This is explained in the correspondence from Harper & Row. Also included in the collection is the front matter and dust jacket copy of the 1976 edition. For The Third Eye (1979), a novel for young adults also set in Scotland, the collection contains a typescript, galleys, page proofs, and partial blueprints.



Related Collection

The Joseph Cellini Papers (DG0170)


Series and Subseries

A. Correspondence (1978)

B. Books


Box Inventory


    Box/Folder

A. Correspondence

1/1 From Harper & Row to the de Grummond Collection, 1978, 1 item.

B. Books

THE KELPIE'S PEARLS by Mollie Hunter, illustrated by Joseph Cellini (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1966) / THE KELPIE'S PEARLS by Mollie Hunter, drawings by Stephen Gammell (New York: Harper & Row, 1976). 1/2 Typescript, dust jacket copy and front matter, 1976 edition, marked for typesetter, 10 pp. Photocopy of 1966 Funk and Wagnalls edition, marked for Harper & Row typesetter, chapters 1-4, pp. 8-51; 1/3 chapters 5-9, pp. 52-112. THE THIRD EYE by Mollie Hunter (New York: Harper & Row, 1979). 1/4 Typescript, 3 pp. 1/4-1/5 Galleys, corrected, incomplete, pp. 1-31; 1/5 pp. 37-82. 1/6-1/9 Proofs, 1/6 front matter and pp. 1-73; 1/7 pp. 74-141; 1/8 pp. 142-213; 1/9 pp. 214-277. 1/10 Blueprint, first signature and 50 loose pages, incomplete and nonsequential.


Processed: February 1991
Revised: June 2001

Biographical Sketch | Scope & Content | Related Collections | Series & Subseries | Box Inventory
[Return to top]

ABOUT US | COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS | RESEARCH | EXHIBITS & EVENTS

SEARCH LIBRARY CATALOG | FINDING AIDS | SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES HOME | SOUTHERN MISS HOME

 

Contact:
The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection

The University of Southern Mississippi
118 College Drive, #5148
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
(601) 266-4349
Comments and Questions

This page is maintained by the de Grummond Collection.
The University of Southern Mississippi
AA/EOE/ADAI