Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Joan McQuary Collection of Sinclair Lewis Letters
Date(s)
- 1942-1945 (Creation)
Extent
0.42 linear feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Harry Sinclair Lewis, known to his friends as “Red,” was a prolific American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. Main Street, published in 1920, is Lewis’ best known work.
Born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota on February 7, 1885, to Edwin and Emma Lewis, Lewis had two older brothers, Fred and Claude.
At Yale University where Lewis received a degree from in 1908, Lewis published in the Yale Literary Magazine, the Courant, and the Record. This began a long career of writing novels, plays, and short stories.
Lewis turned down the Pulitzer Prize in literature in 1926, but accepted the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930.
Lewis was married twice: Grace from 1914 to 1925. They had a son, Wells, who was born in 1917. In 1944, Wells died in combat in France during World War II.
In 1928, Lewis married Dorothy Thompson, a well-known journalist. They had one son, Michael, who was born in 1930. They divorced in 1942. Lewis never remarried.
Lewis died in Rome, Italy on January 10, 1951. His cremated remains were interred in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The 19 letters were written by Sinclair Lewis to Joan McQuary between 1942 and 1945. In the fall of 1942, McQuary met Lewis as a student in his creative writing class at the University of Minnesota. When the class finished in December, Lewis moved to New York City. During his time in Minneapolis, April to December 1942, Lewis nearly completed his novel Gideon Planish.
In these letters, Lewis discussed a wide variety of topics, giving a sense of his life while living in New York City. Lewis elaborated on his search for and described his new apartment at 300 Central Park West. Despite moving to New York City, Lewis longed for his University of Minnesota pupils and Minnesota, urging Joan to visit him in New York City, possibly working for him as a secretary. Lewis often mentioned spending the coming summer in Minnesota.
While in New York City, Lewis finished his novel, Gideon Planish. It was published that spring. Lewis was aware of the reviews he received for his book, noting to McQuary that the “furious attack” by literary critic Mumford Jones “is to be answered by yet more furious letters full of literary sniffing and thumbings of the philological nose…” He also mentioned on several occasions that he was sick of writing. After completing short stories for Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan in the spring of 1943, Lewis said the only writing he wanted to do was checks and luggage labels.
System of arrangement
Letters are arranged chronologically.
Records are located at 27B.4d.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
There are no access restrictions.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Permission to publish, quote, and reproduce must be secured from the copyright holder.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift from Mignon Sauber was the life partner of Joan McQuary.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
A08-024
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Processed by Tom Steman in 2008.