MILDRED LAWRENCE PAPERS

de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi

	Creator:	Mildred Lawrence
	Title:	Mildred Lawrence Papers
	Dates:	1948 - [ca. 1978]
	Dates:	[bulk 1948 - 1971]
	Quantity:	3.0 cubic feet (9 boxes)
	Identification:	DG0596

Biographical Note

Mildred Elwood Lawrence was born in Charleston, Illinois in 1907 to DeWitt and Gertrude Elwood. In 1926 she received an associate degree from Flint (Michigan) Junior College, and two years later obtained a bachelor's degree from Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin. She completed her university training with a master's degree at Yale University in 1931, and stayed active in the American Association of University Women the rest of her life.

Lawrence returned to Flint, Michigan where she took a job at the Flint Journal as society editor; feature writer; and book, music, and art editor. In 1936 she married C. A. Lawrence, who also worked on the Journal staff. After living for a brief time in Pennsylvania, the couple and their daughter, Leora Mary, settled in Orlando, Florida in the 1940s.

Lawrence began writing books for eight-to-twelve-year-old girls when her daughter reached that age range. In subsequent years her books began addressing contemporary teenage issues. Lawrence believed that as girls reached adolescent and teen years, their problems and pressures grew apace. She used her stories to offer life lessons to the younger generation but tried hard not to seem "preachy." Lawrence initially enjoyed great success, publishing books yearly between 1948 and 1971. By the early 1970s, however, times and teenagers had changed sufficiently to give her difficulty in finding a publisher and audience for her works.

Sources:
Something About the Author, v. 3, pp. 101-102
Sources within the Mildred Lawrence Papers.

Scope and Content Note

The Mildred Lawrence Papers contain typescripts, galleys, proofs, and correspondence created and accumulated by Mildred Lawrence between 1948 and 1978. The material is organized into two series: books and correspondence.

The material in the books series includes typescripts, galleys, and proofs for eighteen books written between 1948 and 1971. Walk A Rocky Road (1971), the last of Lawrence's novels, was her only book also to be issued in paperback, under the title A Place to Remember (1972). The papers in the book series are arranged alphabetically by title and the material for each book is arranged chronologically in order of creation where known.

The series of correspondence contains fan mail sent to Mildred Lawrence between 1954 and 1971. It also includes letters sent from Lawrence to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection between 1966 and 1978. These letters were selected and photocopied from the correspondence file of the de Grummond Collection because they offer insight into Mildred Lawrence's life or work. The material is arranged chronologically.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Use

Noncirculating; available for research.

Copyright Restrictions

The 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.

Related Material

Original illustration for One Hundred White Horses transferred to the Oscar Liebman Papers (DG1242).

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Mildred Lawrence Papers, de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, University of Southern Mississippi Libraries.

Provenance

These papers were donated to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection of the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries by Mildred Lawrence between 1968 and 1974.

Processing Information

Processed by C. Alder, February 2002. Encoded into EAD Version 1.0 by Danielle L. Bishop. This finding aid is the product of a grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Container Listing

Contact:
The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi
118 College Drive, #5148
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
(601) 266-4349
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