Aubrey De Vere Papers 1886-1905 MS.1999.004 http://hdl.handle.net/2345/2779

Archives and Manuscripts Department John J. Burns Library Boston College 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill 02467 [email protected] URL: http://www.bc.edu/burns Table of Contents

Summary Information ...... 3 Administrative Information ...... 4 Biographical Note ...... 5 Scope and Content Note ...... 5 Arrangement Note ...... 6 Collection Inventory ...... 7 I: Correspondence ...... 7 II: Manuscript ...... 7

Aubrey De Vere Papers MS.1999.004

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Creator: De Vere, Aubrey Title: Aubrey De Vere papers Collection Identifier: MS.1999.004 Date [inclusive]: circa 1886-1905 Physical Description 2 Volumes () Language of the English Material: Abstract: Small collection of correspondence and manuscripts of Irish poet Aubrey De Vere from 1886-1905. Preferred Citation

Identification of item, Box number, Folder number, Aubrey De Vere papers, MS.1999.004, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Aubrey De Vere Papers MS.1999.004

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Publication Information Processed by Edward Copenhagen in Summer 2001. This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace.

Restrictions on access Collection is open for research.

Restrictions on use These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.

Aubrey De Vere Papers MS.1999.004

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Aubrey Thomas De Vere was born on January 10, 1814 at the family estate, Currage Chase, in County Limerick, Ireland. He was the third son of poet and dramatist Sir Aubrey De Vere (1788-1846). De Vere was educated at Trinity College where he focused his studies on metaphysics. He had friendships with many prominent men of the day, including: Thomas Carlye, , Sir , Alfred Lord Tennyson and . After much thought, De Vere left the Church of England and was received into Roman Catholicism by John Henry Newman. De Vere was considered to be a deeply pious man and he never married.

De Vere was greatly disturbed by Ireland's troubles, especially the economic difficulties arising from the Famine. The De Vere family worked hard to lessen the suffering of their poorer neighbors. Aubrey aided his oldest brother Sir Stephen De Vere (1812-1904) in relief activities and they visited many of the most troubled areas. Based on these experiences, De Vere published English Misrule and Irish Misdeeds (1848). The work charged England with poor governance and encouraged emigration as a solution to Ireland's trouble. De Vere was not exactly a strident Irish patriot but rather an enlightened member of the Irish landowning class.

De Vere was a man of leisure who devoted most of his time to writing. During his lifetime, he produced many published works. These included volumes of poetry, poetic dramas, literary essays, travel writing, and memoirs. De Vere is best known for his poetry. Much of his poetry has religious themes and approximately only one third of his poetic works deal specifically with Irish themes. Many critics consider Inisfail (1861) to be his most successful poem. In this work, he records Irish history from the Norman Conquest to the repeal of the Penal Laws. The Foray of Queen Maeve (1882) was De Vere's retelling of Brian O'Lonney's translation of Táin Bó Cuailnge and offers the poet's own interpretation of the ancient Irish heroes.

De Vere's poetry is generally not identified with the "modern" Irish poets. William Butler Yeats once described his writing as "poetical" rather than "poetic." Nevertheless, critics generally agree that De Vere fashioned very fluent verse with a strong command over narrative and character. He died on January 21, 1902."Aubrey De Vere" in The Dictionary of Irish Literature edited by Robert Hogan (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996): 348-350 and "Aubrey De Vere" in The Oxford Companion to Irish Literature edited by Robert Welch (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996): 144.

Scope and Content Note

The collection contains letters written by and about De Vere, an original manuscript and a photographic portrait of De Vere. Besides a single loose letter, the materials are contained within two bound volumes. The material is dated between 1886 and 1905.

Aubrey De Vere Papers MS.1999.004

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Organized into two series: (1) Correspondence and (2) Manuscripts.

Aubrey De Vere Papers MS.1999.004

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Series I: Correspondence, 1894-1905 Scope and Content Note

This series consists primarily of correspondence written by De Vere between 1894 and 1900. The primary recipients are University of Pennsylvania professor Walter George Smith and his sister Helen Grace Smith. These letters relate to De Vere's life and writing activities. There also letters written to Walter Smith after De Vere's death. These letters relate primarily to the life and work of De Vere. The writers include Stephen De Vere and Charles Eliot Norton. Besides a single loose letter, the letters have been glued into a bound volume. The volume also includes a photographic portrait of De Vere.

Letters of Aubrey De Vere (bound volume), 1894-1905 box 1 folder 1

To "My Dear Smith", 1894 December 6 box 1 folder 2

Series II: Manuscript, circa 1886 Scope and Content Note

This series contains a twenty-eight page manuscript written by De Vere entitled "The Legend of Pancratius." The leaves have been glued into a bound volume. The work was originally published in 1886 in the periodical entitled Catholic World (volume 43: numbers 257 and 258).

Legend of St. Pancratius, circa 1886 box 1 folder 3

Aubrey De Vere Papers MS.1999.004

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