Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of Rita Mae Brown, Accession #12019 , Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

These papers were purchased from Jerry N. Showalter, Ivy, Virginia, on July 2, 2001.

Biographical/Historical Information

Rita Mae Brown was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1944, and was adopted by Ralph and Julia Ellen (Buckingham) Brown. Her family moved to Florida when she was eleven, and she graduated from Fort Lauderdale High School in 1962. She attended the University of Florida, Broward Junior College (A.A. in 1965), New York University (B.A. 1968), and the Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, D.C. (Ph.D. 1976).

While chiefly identified as a writer, especially as the author of the groundbreaking and successful novel Rubyfruit Jungle (1973), featuring the lesbian character, Molly Bolt, Rita Mae Brown is also known as a political activist, feminist, speaker, and founder of such groups as the Redstockings Radical Feminist Group, National Gay Task Force, the National Women's Political Caucus, and co-founder of Radical Lesbians and Lavender Menace. She is also a co-founder with Charlotte Bunch of an experiment in communal living in Washington, D. C. called the Furies Collective, and an early member of NOW.

For more information about Rita Mae Brown and her work, consult the following sources: her memoir, Rita Will (1997); Rita Mae Brown in Twayne's United States Authors Series, by Carol M. Ward (1993); Gale Literary Databases Contemporary Authors (2001); three folders of curriculum vitae and biographical entries in Box 178 of this collection; interviews with Rita Mae Brown found in Boxes 107 and 108; entries in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World ; and her personal website.

Scope and Content Information

This collection comprises the papers of writer Rita Mae Brown (1944-), of Nelson County, Virginia, ca. 31,550 items (188 Hollinger boxes, 78 linear feet), ca. 1929-2001, and undated, and includes manuscripts of her novels and other books, poetry, articles, mysteries, book reviews, screenplays and teleplays; fan mail, personal, family and professional correspondence; calendar diaries, personal journals, photographs, and memorabilia items; legal papers; and other miscellaneous subject files, reflecting her interest in her farm, polo, film, foxhunting, feminist and gay rights issues, and her school and college years.

The bulk of her collection primarily consists of the typescripts of her books, arranged by title; screenplays and teleplays, both original scripts and rewrites; and other literary works such as articles, short stories, book reviews, interviews with Brown and examples of her early poetry, some of which was published in Songs to a Handsome Woman and The Hand That Cradles a Rock . These have been arranged in Series I: Literary Papers and Manuscripts.

Unfortunately, complete manuscripts for some of her early and best known work are not present. The titles of works not represented in this collection of papers include: Rubyfruit Jungle , Starting From Scratch , Sudden Death , In Her Day , and The Plain Brown Rapper .

With the publication of Wish You Were Here in 1990, Brown began writing in a new genre, co-authoring with her cat Sneaky Pie a new mystery series set in Crozet, Virginia, that has proved popular and enduring. This series of books is well represented in the manuscripts series.

Manuscripts for almost all of her screenplays and teleplays are present in the collection and represent a significant part of her work. Rita Mae Brown earned a Cinematography Degree in 1968 from the New York School of Visual Arts. She was nominated for an Emmy for Best Variety Show on Television and received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Variety Show on Television, both for "I Love Liberty" in 1982. Her work on "The Long Hot Summer" ganered her a nomination for an Emmy for Best Mini-Series, 1985. She has authored scripts for ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX Network, Walt Disney, Showtime, 20th Century Fox, Hallmark, and Alvin Cooperman Productions, among others.

The second series includes several subseries of correspondence. The greeting cards and fan mail are arranged chronologically, as are the many requests for Rita Mae Brown for public appearances and speeches, donations of money and goods, and comments regarding other authors' work for book blurbs or publicity. Some requests for Brown's participation generated enough material that either she or the processor has placed it in an individual folder under the name of the event, following the routine request folders.

Her personal correspondence is also arranged chronologically and includes the years from 1966 until today. Because of the amount of material, frequency of correspondence, name recognition, or because Brown had a separate folder for some correspondents, the processor has set up a subseries of folders devoted to individual correspondents, found in boxes 153-164. No claim is made that this is a complete or exhaustive list of important or notable correspondents. This separate subseries includes correspondence with her publishers Rowohlt, Ballatine Publishing Group and Bantam Dell Publishing; other authors; family members, such as her aunt and uncle, Jeun and Claude Brown; her aunt Mary Dundore, and her mother, Julia Brown, both of whom form the basis for the sisters in her novels, Bingo" and Six of One ; film producers and entertainers; other feminists; friends; her agents, Stu Robinson and Wendy Weil; political figures; athletes; and artists. A complete list of these individuals can be found in the folder listing.

The third series contains calendar diaries; a journal kept by her mother, Julia Brown, about Rita Mae Brown as a small child; early journals kept by Rita Mae Brown, 1975-1983; memorablilia; photographs of Rita Mae Brown and her family and friends; many of various pets and animals; foxhunting and others sporting events.

The last series consists of various subject and legal files, including her work in the film industry, contracts and agreements about her books, curriculum vitae and biographical information, Farmington and Oak Ridge Hunt Clubs, horse-related business interests, polo clubs and associations, royalty statements, high school and college papers, notes, report cards, and diplomas, and legal papers involving Martina Navratilova, Judy Nelson, Julia Penelope, Josie Martin, Diana Press, and her properties in Los Angeles, Albemarle County, Virginia, and Nelson County, Virginia.

Organization

Series I: Literary Papers and Manuscripts

Subseries A: Book Manuscripts and Typescripts by Rita Mae Brown, arranged by Title (Boxes 1-68)
Subseries B: Screenplays and Teleplays by Rita Mae Brown (Boxes 69-104)
Subseries C: Articles and Book Reviews written by Rita Mae Brown, Interviews with Brown, and other Literary Work by her (Boxes 104-108)
Subseries D: Literary Work by Other Authors (Boxes 108-112)

Series II: Correspondence

Subseries A: Greeting Cards and Fan Mail (Boxes 113-131)
Subseries B: Request for Appearances, Comments, Donations, etc. (Boxes 131-139)
Subseries C: Personal (Boxes 139-152)
Subseries D: Individual Correspondent Folders (Boxes 153-164)

Series III: Calandar Diaries, Journals, Memorabilia, and Photographs (Boxes 165-175)

Series IV: Legal and Subject Files (Boxes 176-188)