Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1917-1983 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.243 cubic metres (26 boxes, 5 wallets)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Tom Macdonald (1899-1980), novelist, short story writer and journalist, was brought up in Llandre, Cardiganshire, where his father, an Irish tinker, had settled. He was educated at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and then worked as a journalist and editor for the Western Mail and the Daily Express. He travelled extensively during his forty-year career in this profession, working in China, Australia and Africa, before returning to Wales in 1965. In addition to his journalistic articles, he produced a considerable amount of fiction, much of which was published and broadcast; this included a number of autobiographical novels, short stories, stories from Africa, China and Australia, children's novels, plays, and novels dealing with apartheid and wildlife in South Africa. Responsibility for his dealings with publishers was taken on by his family after his death in 1980.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by Mrs Gillian M. Jones, Heaton, Bradford, and Mr Robin Macdonald, Cowley, Oxford, the children of Tom Macdonald, in 1989; a further group of papers was donated by Mrs Eileen Macdonald, Shrewsbury (his widow), in May 1989.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers, 1917-1980, of Tom Macdonald, including manuscript drafts of his published and unpublished novels and short stories; non-fictional writing and research notes relating to his work as a journalist; correspondence; poetry; plays; a collection of newspaper cuttings; minutes of committee meetings, 1917-1921; educational certificates, 1918-1919.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
All records donated to the National Library of Wales have been retained.
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Arranged into the following: novels (autobiographical; Wales; South Africa; children's; other); short stories (Wales; Africa; Australia; China and Hong Kong; children's; general); plays; non-fiction (Wales; Africa; China and Japan; general); research notes and notebooks; correspondence; miscellaneous documents; newspaper cuttings; works by other authors.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A hard copy of the catalogue is available at the National Library of Wales.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
Macdonald, Tom, The White Lanes of Summer: a memoir (London, 1975); trans. Haydn Morgan, Y Tincer Tlawd (Aberystwyth, 1971); trans. W. J. Gruffydd, 'Elerydd', Gwanwyn Serch (Aberystwyth, 1982); Gareth the Ploughman (London, 1939); Croesi'r Bryniau (Welsh adaptation by Nansi Griffiths of Gareth the Ploughman) (Aberystwyth, 1980)
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of fonds.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Project identifier
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Macdonald, Tom, 1900- -- Archives (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows ANW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.;AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
February 2003
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Compiled by David Moore for the ANW project. The following source was consulted in the compilation of this description: NLW, Schedule of Tom Macdonald Papers