Edward Charles (E. C. E. Hemsted) correspondence

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Edward Charles (E. C. E. Hemsted) correspondence

Collection 1979-010

Dates: 1931-1961.

Extent: (8 boxes).

Level of Description: Item level.

Name of creator(s): Edward Charles (E.C.E. Hemsted).

Date of creation: Undetermined.

Scope and Content: Organized into three series: Series 1: Correspondence consists of letters between Charles and various publishers, his literary agent, fellow authors (including E.M. Forster, John Strachey, and H.G. Wells), colleagues and scientists, and Left Book Club groups; the correspondence dates from 1931-1961 and is arranged alphabetically by surname. Also within the correspondence is an autograph draft short story by Edith Charles and the typescript draft of Cecil I.B. Voge’s book, The Science of Contraception.

Series 2: Writings consist of the autograph, typescript, and carbon copy typescript drafts of reader’s reports, book reviews, essays, translations, short stories and novels (Idle Hands; Muscara, A Novel; Seek Love There), works of non-fiction (Contraception Today and Tomorrow; A New Contraceptive; The Sexual Impulse), and press cuttings of reviews of Charles’ works.

Series 3: Miscellaneous includes an index and selection of press notices of Charles’ first three novels; material in reference to the court case of New York against Viking Press (God’s Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell); syllabus for a course of four lectures on the theory and practice of socialism; list of English mono- and disyllables; photograph of Charles in mid-life; insurance papers.

Administrative/Biographical History: Edward Charles (E.C.E. Hemsted) was b. Anacapri, Isola de Capri, 1898. e. Lancing & St. Johns Col. Oxford (where he took a double first) Louvain, Univ. A Professor of English in Japan (where he tutored the sons of the Emperor of Japan), then a Professor at the University of Peking. He sailed to Singapore on a tramp steamer, and tended bar at the "Long Bar" at the Raffles Hotel, before returning to Oxford. He later moved to Indian and served as Principal of a Moslem-Hindu school in central India from 1927-1928. He also taught in the US. In 1935 he was involved with in a major trial involving the publication of his work, The Sexual Impulse. He also published Men's Gods; Those Thoughtful People; Sand & the Blue Moss; Apple Pie Bed; Indian Patchwork (with "Mary Charles", a pseudonym for his wife, Dorothy Mary Chance); Portrait of the Artist's Children; Idle Hands. c.t.: Adelphi, Life & Letters, The Atlantic Monthly. s.s.: Sexology, endocrinology, contraception. 1st class honors in law. Rec: Painting (oils & water colour), art criticism. c: New Univ. a: New University Club, St James St. & Rossiniere, Switzerland & Anacapri, Italy. (information gleaned from Who was who among English and European authors v.1, p.298, and several press releases for Indian patchwork)

Access and Copyright: There is no restriction on access to this material. The copyright is unclear.

Language and Scripts: English.

Finding aid/Inventory: Finding aid is available online.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition: Purchased from Bertram Rota, 1979.

Date(s) of description: Milissa Burkart, date unknown.

Access Points:

Subject Headings

Personal names

Corporate names

Places

	Inventory
	Series 1: Correspondence

1:1	Appelbe & Morrison (Solicitors) to Edward Charles. 1935.
	Argus Book Shop, The to and from Edward Charles. 1945.
	Atlantic Monthly, The. See Series 2: Writings: “Dawn”
	Boriswood Limited Publishers (C.J. Greenwood) to and from Edward Charles. 1936.
	Bradford Leeds Rally. Typed draft notice of organizer, date and time.
	Briffault, Robert and Herma to and from Edward Charles. 1935.
	Brett-Young, Francis from Edward Charles. 1935.
	British Council, The. Mimeograph copies of postings for lecturer positions in Indonesia; Jun 1959, Aug 1959. Related correspondence.
	British Sexological Society to Edward Charles. 1936.
	Bulman, Claude to and from Edward Charles. 1940.
	Century Theatre, The. List of lecture programmes for the Sex Education Centre, Oct-Dec 1935.
	Cassells. From Edward Charles. 1935.

1:2	Charles, Edith. “Il Romanzo D’un Maestro.” Handwritten draft short story [?] in a manuscript notebook, dated 15 Apr 1898.

1:3	Cooper, B.S. (medical doctor) to and from Edward Charles. 1957.
	Curwin Press Ltd., The. 1938-1940.
	Faber & Faber Ltd. Publishers to and from Edward Charles.
	Fles, Barthold (literary agent) to and from Edward Charles. 1934.
	Forster, E.M. “Liberty in England.” Mimeograph typed extract from an address delivered at the International Congress of Authors at Paris, 21 Jun 1935, 2p.

1:4	Gabbitas, Thring & Co. Ltd (educational agency) to and from Edward Charles. 1957.

1:5	Garman. From Edward Charles. 1938.
	Garnett, David (New Statesman) to and from Edward Charles. 1935.
	Gollancz Ltd., Victor (The Left Book Club) to and from Edward Charles. 1936-1937.

1:6	Heinemann Ltd., William to and from Edward Charles. 1933-1935.

1:7	Hogarth Press, The to and from Edward Charles. 1955.
	Hookman, Hilda and Kitty to and from Edward Charles. 1940.
	Huxley, Aldous. “Lord Campbell and Mr. Charles.” Mimeograph typed reprint from The New Statesman and Nation, 9 Nov 1935, 2p.
	Huxley, Aldous from Edward Charles. 1935. Not sent.
	Jocelyn from Edward Charles. 1961.
	Johnson, Dennis. “Edward Charles and the Suppressing Impulse.” Typed draft class paper, with handwritten revisions, 10p. 5 May 1973.
	Joiner & Steele Ltd. Publishers to Edward Charles. 1931.
	Labour Monthly, The to Edward Charles. no date
	Lawrence and Wishart, Ltd to Edward Charles. 1939.
	Left Book Club (Hastings Group). Carbon copy typed list of lecture programmes, no date. Related correspondence, 1937.
	Left Book Club (Hendon and Finchley Group) To John Strachey. 1936; To Edward Charles. 1937.
	Left Book Club (Manchester Group). Printed programme of lecture series, no date, 2 copies; another programme for an emergency one-day school, 2 Jun.
	Left Book Club (Sales Group). Printed programme for the lecture “The Fascist Menace,” 10 Jul. 2 copies.
	Left Review, The (editor) from Edward Charles. 1935.
	Lewis & Co. Ltd., H.K. (medical publishers) to Edward Charles. 1936.
	MacCarthy, Desmond from Edward Charles. 1935.
	Macclesfield, Electors of the constituency of. Unsigned mimeograph typed petition protesting against the agreement with Japan to close the Burma Road for three months.
	Macclesfield Liberal Association. Printed notice of a public meeting at which Edward Charles will present his personal impressions of social and cultural life in Soviet Russia, no date, 2 copies.
	Macclesfield Liberal Association. Printed notice of a public meeting of discussion on what the proposed German-Soviet Pact will mean. Speakers may include Edward Charles, 24 Aug, 2 copies.
	Macclesfield Local Labour Party from Edward Charles. 1940. See also Series 1: Correspondence: Potts, J. (Alderman, Borough of Macclesfield)
	Manchester Council for Democratic Aid. 1940.
	Manchester Engineers’ Committee. 1941.
	Marshall, P. Howard from Edward Charles. 1935.
	Methuen & Co., Ltd to Edward Charles. 1935.
	Mitcham Group (J.W. Potts) to Edward Charles. Incomplete date.
	Modern Quarterly, The to Edward Charles. 1938.

1:8	News Chronicle (editor) from Edward Charles. In response to an open letter to the News Chronicle by J.B. Priestley, 9 Dec 1940.
	Nichols, Robert from Edward Charles. 1935.
	Porter, Thomas (furnisher) to Edward Charles. 1941-1942.
	Potts, J. (Alderman, Borough of Macclesfield) to and from Edward Charles. 1939-1940. Concerning Potts’ alleged slander against Edward Charles.

1:9	Pritt, D.W to and from Edward Charles. 1941.
	Society for Cultural Relations Between the Peoples of the British Commonwealth and the U.S.S.R. (Manchester Branch). Newsletters, lecture notices.
	Strachey, John from Edward Charles. 1935. See also Series 1: Correspondence: Left Book Club (Hendon and Finchley Group)
	Vatike Haborim [?] (Socialist Zionist Youth Movement) to Edward Charles. 1940.

1:10-11	Voge, Cecil I.B. The Science of Contraception. Typed and carbon copy typed of Voge’s book, with handwritten revisions, Chapters 1-15.

1:12	Weinreb, Ben from John [?]. 1978. In reference to Edward Charles, his life and writings.
	Wells, Herbert George to and from Edward Charles. 1935.
	Workers’ Educational Association to Edward Charles. 1939-1940.

	Unidentified.

Series 2: Writings
“Apple Pie Bed”
2:1	Press cuttings of reviews.

“The Blue Moss”
	See Series 2: Writings: “Sand”

“The Cat and the Pigeon”
2:2	Typed short story, 12p. Carbon copy of same. Aug 1931.

“A Christmas Card”
	Printed poem, 1 leaf.

[Communist Society]
	Typed fragments of Edward Charles’s commentary on an article written by J.B.S. Haldane appearing in The Daily Worker, with handwritten marginal notes, 6p.

“Concetta”
2:3	Typed short story with handwritten revisions and corrections, 8p. Carbon copy of same. 15 Dec 1929.

The Conquest of Power
2:4	Edward Charles’s carbon copy typed reader’s report on A. Weisbord's book, typed on verso of Charles's original handwritten draft, 3p.
	Carbon copy typed page notes, 6p; press cuttings of related articles.

*Contraception Today and Tomorrow*
	Two papers. 1934.

“The Biological Environment of Conception and the Contraception of Tomorrow”
2:5	Typed draft with handwritten revisions and corrections, 46p.

“The Intelligent Person’s Guide to the Contraception of Today”
	Typed draft with handwritten revisions, corrections, and additions to text, 71p.
	Carbon copy typed table illustrating the inter-relationship of methods of contraception and their physiological, pharmacological and psychological value laid in, 5p.
	Memorandum of Agreement, 28 Dec 1934, between Edward Charles and The New University Club. Carbon copy typed and signed draft, 1p.

“The Dawn”
2:6	Short story signed and excised from the Atlantic Monthly, Apr 1931. Includes typed contractual agreement with The Atlantic Monthly Company, 15 Feb 1930.

“The Dead Writer”
2:7	Handwritten short story, 14p. 21 May 1931.
	Carbon copy typescript, 10p.

The Fens
2:8	Edward Charles’s typed and carbon copy typed translation of André Gide's Paludes, with handwritten revisions and corrections, 90p. 1923.

“God and the Girl”
2:9	Carbon copy typed short story, 8p; another carbon copy of same. 16 May 1931.
	Typed draft with handwritten corrections, 8p.

“A Great Bunch of White Lilac”
2:10	Typed short story published in England in Adelphi, Nov 1931, and in the U.S. in The Best British Short Stories of 1932, 5p; carbon copy of same.
	Carbon copy typed and signed draft, 8p; carbon copy signed draft of same.

“Honesty is Always Funny”
2:11	Carbon copy typescript of a play in three acts, with handwritten additions to text and postscript, 107p. 1932.

“Human Purpose and Human Survival: A Mid Twentieth Century Assessment of Human Happiness”
2:12	Incomplete draft, possibly originating as a book review, consisting of 34 handwritten pages and 14 typed pages, with handwritten revisions, and hand numbered p1B-17B.

“Human Survival”
2:13	“Manuscript of the first few [3] chapters of a book on the population increase and the way it is changing our lives and values and will destroy us.” 1951.
	Carbon copy typed chapter by chapter synopsis and handwritten draft of Chapter I, 66p.
	Chapter II, 28p.
	A continuation in two small writing pads, 49p and 43p. Handwritten draft of an untitled poem on the back cover of one of the two pads.
	A continuation in a standard size writing pad, 16p.

“Justice”
2:14	Carbon copy typed and signed draft of explanatory introduction and extract from Indian Patchwork, written especially for Nash’s Magazine, 1933, 6p. See also Series 2: Writings: Indian Patchwork.

“I’d Like a New Book, Please”
3:1	Handwritten and signed draft [essay], 10p; carbon copy typescript, 7p. 27 May 1931.

Idle Hands
3:2	Handwritten and signed draft of novel, pi-viii, 1-213. 1934.
3:3	p214-375. Includes handwritten notes pertaining to the writing of the novel, 1p.
3:4	Memorandum of Agreement. Typed and signed draft agreement between Edward Charles and Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company, Boston, Massachusetts . 5 Apr 1935.
	Memorandum of Agreement. Typed and signed draft agreement between Edward Charles and Faber and Faber Limited, London. 22 May 1935
3:5	Press cuttings of reviews.

Indian Patchwork
3:6	Memorandum of Agreement. Typed and signed draft agreement between Edward Charles and Harcourt, Brace and Company, Inc., New York City, New York. 4 Jan 1934.
3:7	Press cuttings of reviews.
	See also Series 2: Writings: “Justice”

“Is it possible to proceed from industrial capitalism to socialism smoothly…”
3:8	Typed introductory talk, 1p; carbon copy of same. Includes time-tables for proposed G.C.E. examinations, tuition schedules, list of student names and addresses. 16 Nov 1959.

“Lacquer”
	Typed short story, 11p; carbon copy of same.

The Land That God Gave Cain
3:9	An account of H.G. Watkins’s Labrador Expedition by J.M. Scott. 1933. Press cutting of Edward Charles’s book review.

“The Literary Causerie”
3:10	Handwritten and signed short story, 11p. 22 Jun 1933.
	Carbon copy typescript, 9p, 2 copies.
	Typed draft, signed “Anonymous,” with handwritten revisions, 9p.

“Marx the Scientist”
3:11	Talk presented by Edward Charles at a Marx Anniversary Meeting, Caxton Hall. 2 tickets.

“Measures of Time”
	Carbon copy typed and signed short story, 9p, 2 copies.

“Men’s Gods”
3:12	A play in two acts. Press cuttings of reviews, circa 1931.

“The Middle Way”
3:13	Typed short story, with handwritten revisions, 7p. 16 Sept 1928.

“The Mist”
3:14	Typed and signed short story, with handwritten additions to text, 8p. 21 Oct 1921.

Muscara
3:15	Handwritten and signed draft of novel, pi-vii, 1-194. Includes handwritten and signed notes to the typist, 1p. 13 Feb - 20 Mar 1932.
4:1	p195-372.
4:2	Memorandum of Agreement between Edward Charles and Methuen & Co. Ltd., London, signed and dated 21 Jun 1934.
4:3	Press cuttings of reviews; publisher’s notice.

A New Contraceptive
4:4	Carbon copy typed “sketch of the evolution of contraceptive thought since primitive society” with handwritten revisions, pi-vii, 1-210. 1952.
4:5	Another copy with handwritten revisions varying from the previous draft, which includes a photo static copy of a table illustrating the inter-relationship of methods of contraception and their physiological, pharmacological and psychological value laid in at p143. See also: Series 2: Writings: “Problems of Contraception”
4:6	Typed draft with handwritten revisions similar to previous draft, photo static copy of the above table, one page of additional text supplied by Dr. Marie Stopes, and a hand drawn illustration.
	“Preliminary Report on A New Contraceptive….and a New Dimension of Man’s Social Conscience…” (London: Delisle Limited, 1952). 2 copies.

Untitled novel
5:1	Handwritten draft of an untitled politico-philosophical novel, pi-iv, 1-156
5:2	p157-364.
5:3	Typed draft with handwritten revisions, p1-180.
5:4	p181-393.
5:5-6:1	Carbon copy typed copy with similar handwritten revisions.

“Paying the Rent”
6:2	Carbon copy typed short story with handwritten correction, 32p; another copy of same. 1 Nov 1931.

“The Philosophic Programme”
6:3	Typed essay, marked “Essay No. 2”, with handwritten revisions and additions to text, 41p; carbon copy typed of same. 1936.

“Philosophy and Revolution”
6:4	Typed essay, marked “Essay No. 1”, with handwritten revisions and additions to text, 25p. 1936.

“The Political Programme (The Class Struggle)”
6:5	Typed essay, marked “Essay No. 3”, with handwritten revisions and additions to text, 39p; carbon copy of same. 1936.

“Population the Next Fifty Years”
6:6	Article appearing in Past and Future, New Year 1959.

Portrait of the Artist’s Children
6:7	Memorandum of Agreement. Carbon copy typed and signed draft agreement between Edward Charles and William Heinemann Limited, London, 17 Jan 1934.
	Memorandum of Agreement. Carbon copy typed and signed agreement, with handwritten revisions and additions, between Edward Charles and Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 27 Dec 1934.
6:8	Press cuttings of reviews; publisher’s notice.

“Problems of Contraception”
6:9	Article accompanied by a table illustrating the inter-relationship of methods of contraception and their physiological, pharmacological, and psychological value as worked out jointly by Edward Charles and Cecil I. B. Voge. Appearing in The Manufacturing Chemist, Mar 1936. See also: Series 2: Writings: A New Contraceptive.

“Salt Industry in France”
6:10	Edward Charles’s carbon copy typed translation into French for the Hamilton Translation Service, London. 1957.

“Sand” and “The Blue Moss”
6:11	Press cuttings of reviews of two short novels.

Seek Love There
7:1	Typed and carbon copy typed novel with handwritten revisions and corrections, pi-vi, 1-214.
7:2	p215-374; typed list of footnotes, 2p.
7:3	Continues as carbon copy typed, p375-442 and handwritten draft, p414-507.
7:4	Typed copy of previous carbon copy typed, p375-442, including handwritten notes by Edward Charles pertaining to the writing of the novel, 1p.
7:5	Continues as typed, p443-470; carbon copy typed of same; unnumbered typed, final chapter, 27p.

“The Setting Sun and Music at the Close”
7:6	Typed short story with handwritten corrections, 5p. Published in Atlantic Monthly, Apr 1931.

The Sexual Impulse
8:1	Typed introduction, 4p. 1934.
8:2	“The Need for Some Working Definitions.” Handwritten draft of Chapter I, 19p.
	Chapter II, p1-46.
	“Sexual Striving as an Art.” Chapter III, p1-33.
	“The Arrested Development of the Sexual Impulse—Masturbation.” Chapter IV, p1-24.
	“Part II: The Sexual Environment.” “Hatred.” Chapter V, p1-31.
	“Transition.” Chapter VI, p1-12.
8:3	Part III: The Dual Unit.” “The Mechanism of Sexual Union and the Bio-Chemistry of Sexual Desire.” Chapter IX, p1-35.
	“Sexual Union.” Chapter X, p1-76.
	“Contraception.” Chapter XI, p1-47.
	“Pregnancy.” Chapter XII, p1-21.
8:4	Handwritten notes pertaining to diagrams and illustrations, as well as eleven hand drawn illustrations, 13p.

	A Menstruation Calendar. Why Women Should Keep One. Hermann Kraus, Head of the Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics of the German University of Prague. 1934. Contains handwritten notations by Edward Charles [?].
	A Menstruation Calendar. Why Women Should Keep One. Copy of “…the original Russian layout for Kraus’s menstrual calendar given to the author by Dr. Ganatzeff himself.”
8:5	Handwritten notes to the editor, list of printer’s errors, 2p.

8:6	Hand made dust jacket bearing the handwritten note: “See Alec Craig The Banned Books of England/for a full account of the trials/Author’s only copy. Please treat/with great care. Please ignore/the manuscript ‘corrections’ when reading/the book.”

8:7	Memorandum of Agreement between Edward Charles and William Heinemann (Medical Books) Limited, London, with handwritten and typed revisions and additions. Signed and dated 18 Aug 1933.
8:8	Boriswood Limited Publishers publication announcement, 2 copies.
8:9	Press cuttings of reviews.

8:10	Rex versus Boriswood Court Case. Typed list of witnesses for the Appellants in the case of Rex versus. Boriswood on Appeal. Witnesses include Robert Briffault, Janet Chance, Geoffrey Dunlop, Amabel Williams-Ellis, Professor Flügel, J. B. S. Haldane, Julian S. Huxley, W. Pinnington Jensen, Professor Malinowsky, Robert Nichols, Mrs. Seaton-Tiedeman, Lady Winstedt, and Rebecca West. 1p.

	Carbon copy typed biographical blurbs pertaining to some of the personalities involved in the case, 10 Dec 1935, 5p. Carbon copy of another version, 4p.
	“Preliminary Report of Police Action…” Carbon copy, 2p plus another version dated 13 Aug 1935, 2p.
	“Summary Report of Police Action…” Typed draft dated 1 Oct 1935, 3p.
8:11	Press cuttings relating to the case.

“A Short Consideration of the Origins and of the Physiological Purpose of Vaginal Douching”
8:12	Carbon copy typed informational and instructional booklet for Gilmont Products Limited, the makers of Permfoam, 10p.

“Skeletal Table of the History of English Literature in Its Broad Setting of Western Philosophy, Science Culture and Letters”
8:13	Mimeograph typed draft prepared by Edward Charles for the London Academy, 11p.

“The Social Environment of Paleolithic Man”
8:14	Carbon copy typescript, 33p.
8:15	Typed and signed draft of previous carbon copy typed, with handwritten corrections, additions to text, and pen and ink illustrations, 33p.

“Somebody’s Tiger”
8:16	Typed short story, 10p.
	Carbon copy typed of same in a folder bearing the following note: “1930/N.B. There is a most remarkable letter/by my father, 1860 to his mother about his/own first tiger shoot in which a fellow/officer was mauled and killed./The two letters might go together, but I sh/need a week or two to get hold of the other/and have it copied.”

“They went to traffic in the East”
8:17	Carbon copy typed short story, 7p.

These Thoughtful People. A Study in Madness
8:18	Typed reader’s report on Edward Charles’s short novel, 2p.
8:19	Press cuttings of reviews.

“Traveller’s Harvest”
8:20	Typed and signed draft play in three acts, alternately titled, “The Growing Up of Rita Gardiner,” with handwritten revisions, pi-iii, 1-97. 1932.

“Truth the Handmaiden of Capitalist Expediency”
8:21	Edward Charles’s typed and signed draft book review of The Spirit and Structure of German Fascism by Robert A. Brady, with handwritten revisions, 3p.


Series 3: Miscellaneous

8:22	“Index of press notices, etc. of my first three novels.” Typed draft, 2p.
	“A Selection from ‘Press-Notices’ of the first three published books by Edward Charles.” Mimeograph typed, 2p, 2 copies.
	“The People of the State of New York against The Viking Press, Inc., and Helen Schiller.” Mimeograph typed in reference to God’s Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell, 3p.
	“A syllabus for a course of four lectures on the theory and practice of socialism in elaboration of the 1936 book by John Strachey.” Handwritten list and notes, 2p.
	Typed list of English mono- and disyllables, 1p.
	Photograph of Edward Charles in mid-life.
	National Insurance and Pension papers.

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Copyright © 2008 McFarlin Library - The University of Tulsa. All rights reserved. Revised: 08/20/09.

Copyright © 2008 McFarlin Library - The University of Tulsa. All rights reserved.
Revised: 08/20/09.