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Forty-six manuscript and typescript letters, [c. 1890]-[c. 1934], from Berta Ruck, mostly to her father, Col Arthur Ashley Ruck, [1920s]-[c. 1934], containing mainly personal and family news.
Also included are two letters to her grandmother Mary Anne Ruck, [c. 1890] (ff. 1-4), and a carbon copy letter to her sister-in-law, Georgina Ruck, 15 July 1932 (ff. 86-91). Most of the letters were written either from home or while on holiday in Austria, France, Germany and Sweden. There are references to Oliver Onions (ff. 6-100 passim), Geoffrey Moss (f. 6), Sir Ray Lankester (ff. 9 verso, 10 verso-11, 12, 31, 32, 66), Ménie Muriel FitzGerald (ff. 13-17, 18, 29, 46-47, 56, 59), Alec Waugh (ff. 26, 35-36) and Vita Sackville West (f. 46); she also describes her car accident on 14 July 1932 (ff. 88-91). There are ink drawings by Ruck on f. 2 recto-verso.

Manuscripts of Berta Ruck, [c. 1890]-[1974x1978], including notebooks, 1906-1946; manuscripts and typescripts of literary and autobiographical works, 1955-[1974x1978]; letters, [c. 1890]-1971; poetry, [1920s]-[1930s]; and sketches, [1900x1920].
The notebooks typically contain notes and ideas for fiction, drawings and sketches, pasted in letters and ephemera, and journal entries. These detail her home life and travels and give news of her sons Arthur and Bill Oliver, husband Oliver Onions and other family and friends.

Papers, [c. 1890]-[1974x1978], of Berta Ruck, including notebooks containing journal entries, ideas for fiction, newspaper cuttings and ephemera, 1906-1973; literary and autobiographical manuscripts, typescripts and photocopies, [1950x1955]-[1974x1978]; letters, [c. 1890]-[1972]; poetry, [1920s]-[1930s]; and sketches, [1900x1920].

Drawings, [1900x1920], by Berta Ruck, including illustrations for publications and rough sketches.
They include ink, pencil and charcoal illustrations, some coloured; the main subjects are children at play, mothers with babies and scenes of daily life, some probably in France and Holland. Two leaves from the children's magazine The Jabberwock, [1905x1907], contain four illustrations by Ruck (ff. 30-31 verso). A portrait of Mrs Patrick Campbell is on f. 7. Also included are some miscellaneous notes (ff. 16, 17, 27 verso).

Miscellaneous papers of Berta Ruck, 1902-[early 1970s], including autograph and typescript drafts of verse, [1920s]-[1930s], many in multiple copies (ff. 1-123); lecture notes, [c. 1935]-[c. 1945] (ff. 124-224); a short story, 'April Folly', [c. 1935], apparently related to her novel Half Past Kissing Time (London, 1936) (ff. 225-248); and some thirteen letters to the author in English and German, [1903x1904]-1971 (ff. 264-283).
The correspondents include Clement Scott, [1903x1904] (f. 264), Marda Vanne, 9 October 1936 (f. 280), Harold Nicolson, 14 June 1962 (f. 281, on the death of his wife, Vita Sackville-West), and Quentin Bell, September 1971 (ff. 282-283, concerning his biography of Virginia Woolf); there are also three letters, 1929, from 'Harry', her Austrian lover (ff. 265-272, mostly in German). Also included are two leaves from Ruck's journal, June 1930 (ff. 249-250); reminiscences, [early 1970s], of Lydia Lopokova (ff. 251-259) with a photograph of her, [?1920s] (f. 260); press cuttings of an article by Ruck, September 1936 (f. 261), and of two articles relating to Virginia Woolf, 1972 (ff. 262-263); W. R. Oliver's school report at Shrewsbury School, 1929 (f. 284); programme for 'My Lady Molly' at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 1902 (ff. 285-286); and page proofs for Chapter 8 of A Smile for the Past (London, 1935) (ff. 287-292).

Notebook of Berta Ruck, 1906, containing jottings in English and German, and pencil, ink and charcoal sketches, many made during a visit to Holland.
Notes, May 1906, relating to Holland are on ff. 34 verso-36 verso (inverted text).

Notebook of Berta Ruck, 1907-1914, containing impressions of people and places, various ideas for fiction and sketches in ink or pencil (ff. 5, 9 verso-10, 17, 23, 29 verso-30, 33 verso, 38, 51 verso, 52 verso).
The volume includes descriptions of Équihen-Plage, France, July 1907 (ff. 1-3 verso), and Pennal, Merioneth, 8 June 1911 (f. 35, 45), and notes describing the lifestyle and duties of nurses (ff. 39 verso-44 verso).

A photocopy, [20 cent., third ¼], of a children's story entitled 'The edge of the world', written and illustrated by Berta Ruck and presented to Oliver Onions in December 1907.

Notebook of Berta Ruck, 1914-[1922], containing draft passages of fiction, including passages from The Wrong Mr Right (London, 1922) (ff. 8-26 verso, 35 verso, 62 verso), together with notes and journal entries giving impressions of life in wartime in both Britain and France, March 1914-November 1915.
There are extensive notes concerning a journey to Paris and Bordeaux, apparently in the company of Menié Muriel Dowie, October-November 1915 (ff. 43 verso-48, 50-55, 56 verso-62, 63-64, 66 verso-67); as well as visits to aircraft works, 1914 (ff. 29 verso-32, 64 verso-66); and to Aberystwyth and the family home at Esgair, 1914-1915 (ff. 2, 3, 35, 41 verso-42). There are a number of pen and ink drawings by Ruck (notably ff. 24-25, 59 verso, 61).

Fragments of notebooks of Berta Ruck, 1914-1926, containing impressions of travels in England and Merioneth, Wales, 1914-1916 (ff. 1-11), New York, [22]-23 September 1919 (ff. 12-16), Vienna, Austria, 1926 (ff. 17-30 verso), and France, 1926 (ff. 31-36), together with a few notes for fiction. Ephemera (in German) and nine letters, postcards and telegrams, mainly from family, July-August 1926, have been pasted in.
There are references to the First World War, [1914] (f. 2 recto-verso), 1916 (ff. 5 verso, 7 recto-verso), including a description of a Red Cross auction in Corris, Merioneth, 3 June 1916 (f. 7 recto-verso). Ink drawings by Ruck are on ff. 2 verso, 12. A photograph, [1926], of Ruck with her son, Arthur, is on f. 36 verso.

Notebook of Berta Ruck, June 1918-September 1919, containing impressions of wartime life in North Wales and London and of her visit to the USA in 1919, later reworked and incorporated into chapters 16-25 of her autobiographical volume A Story-teller tells the Truth (London, 1935); also included are commonplace entries and extracts from letters received.

Notebook of Berta Ruck, September 1919-March 1920, containing impressions of her visit to the USA and comparing British and American life; a press cutting of a review of her novel The Immortal Girl (London, 1925) has been inserted on f. 57 verso.

Notebook of Berta Ruck, March 1920-January 1921, recording visits to Oxford and London and holidays in Brittany and Scotland; a few extracts were later incorporated in her autobiographical volume A Story-teller tells the Truth (London, 1935).

Notebook, July-August 1939, compiled by Berta Ruck in memory of her late father, Colonel Arthur Ashley Ruck (d. 12 July 1939), including reminiscences; twenty-three letters, telegrams and postcards from family and friends, 1935-1939, being mainly letters of condolence; and other items, [1920s]-1939.
The correspondents include Alys Meirion, [17 July 1939] (f. 5), A. Bodvel Roberts, 13 July 1939 (f. 104 verso), Paul Bland, 18 July 1939 (f. 112a verso), Ménie Muriel FitzGerald, 17 July 1939 (f. 113 verso), and Bernard Darwin, 13 July 1939 (f. 114); there are also two letters from A. A. Ruck to Berta Ruck, 25 February 1935, 26 March 1939 (ff. 3 verso, 37). Also included are newspaper obituaries of A. A. Ruck, [July 1939] (f. 1 verso), and of his brother, Col. Oliver Edwal Ruck, [July 1934] (ff. 16 verso-17), and two group photographs, one a family group, [1920s], both including A. A. Ruck (ff. 4, 44 verso).

Notebook of Berta Ruck, March 1921-June 1924, containing diary entries, ideas for fiction, comments on the progress of her work and impressions of holidays in Vichy, Brittany and Haute Savoie, France; a few extracts were later incorporated in her autobiographical volume A Story-teller tells the Truth (London, 1935).
Letters and papers, 1921-1933, found loose inside have been filed separately (NLW MS 23569iiC).

Letters and papers of Berta Ruck, 1921-1933, found loose inside her 1921-1924 notebook (NLW MS 23569iB).
The correspondents include her father, A. A. Ruck, [1933] (f. 7), and Gerald Gould, 1933 (f. 8).

Notebook of Berta Ruck, December 1922-January 1923, containing a journal of a visit to the south of France and Corsica (ff. 1-21).
The journal records her car journey from Paris to Cannes, in the company of Ménie Muriel FitzGerald, December 1922 (ff. 1 verso-5), her stay at Cannes, including visits to Nice and Monte Carlo, December 1922 (ff. 5-11) and her visit to Corsica, December 1922-January 1923 (ff. 11 verso-21). There are also fragments of journal entries from September 1921 (f. 49) and October 1921 (f. 50 recto-verso). A letter from Dr George Williamson to a Mrs Hueffer, 6 June 1923, possibly about Ruck, is f. 22a. A leaf containing cartoons and jottings is f. 52a.

Notebook, July 1924-July 1926, of Berta Ruck containing diary entries and impressions of her visits to Switzerland, Paris, Germany and Austria; theatre programmes, letters to her and press cuttings relating to her work and to contemporary events have been pasted in.

Notebook of Berta Ruck, October 1926-September 1927, containing a journal, mainly of her visits to Le Portel, near Boulogne, October 1926 (ff. 1-6), August-September 1927 (ff. 19-70 verso), and notes for fiction. Some sixteen letters, playbills and other ephemera have been pasted in.
The correspondents include Sir E. Ray Lankester, November [1926]-August [1927] (ff. 9, 64 verso), Edgar Wallace, 8 February 1927 (f. 18 verso), and Rebecca West, [8] July 1927 (f. 58). There are references to Rebecca West (f. 12 verso) and the late E. Nesbit (f. 23), and descriptions of a travelling French theatre company at Le Portel (ff. 30-31 verso, 33 recto-verso, 35, 45 verso-47 verso, 52-53 verso, 56-57 verso, 65), and of a visit to Paris (ff. 24 verso-28). Ink, pencil and watercolour sketches by the author are on ff. 4 verso, 32, 36 verso-37, 38 verso, and a photograph of her is on f. 55 verso. A ticket for a lecture in Pantperthog, 26 February 1895, is on f. 15.

Notebook of Berta Ruck, November 1927-May 1928, containing journal entries including an account of her visit to France (pp. 1-12), the deaths of her aunt, Sister Mary Gabriel (Mary D'Arcy), on 15 December 1927, and her mother, Elizabeth, on 10 March 1928, and drafts of articles. Thirty-three letters, cards and telegrams from family and friends and ephemera have been pasted in.
The correspondents include Alec Waugh, [1928] (p. 42), Rebecca West, 20 February 1928 (p 57), Ménie Muriel Fitzgerald, [March 1928] (p. 64), Marda Vanne, [March 1928] (p. 77), Capt. Geoffrey de Havilland, 7 November 1928 (p. 103), Sir E. Ray Lankester, [November 1928] (p. 104), and Vyvyan Holland, 25 November 1928 (p. 107). A photograph, 1923, of Ruck with her parents is on p. 62; ink sketches by her are on pp. 1, 5, 21, 29, 47, 106. A menu for a Forum Club Welsh Group dinner, 12 December 1927, signed by David Lloyd George, is on p. 15. There are also references to the death of Thomas Hardy, January 1928 (pp. 36-37), and an anecdote relating to Colette, the French novelist (p. 8). The volume includes three folios, November 1928 (pp. 103-108), and two letters (ff. i b-e), removed from other volumes.