Willard Huntington Wright 1899-1978

Scope and content:

W. H. Wright wrote under the pen name, S. S. Van Dine, and created the detective character, Philo Vance. Most of the collection consists of correspondence between Wright, and his wife, Katherine Boynton Wright, and their daughter Beverley. Due to his work and their fragile health, mental and physical, the Wrights spent most of their 23-year marriage apart. They eventually divorced in 1930. These letters reflect a troubled marriage and a dysfunctional family. Toward the end of their marriage and Wright's life, letters between him and Katherine primarily concerned money disputes and the life of their wayward daughter, Beverley, who led a bohemian lifestyle. Correspondence, 1928, strongly indicates Beverley had lesbian tendencies which upset her mother, but not her father. #9701-a

Physical description:

1563 items.

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