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Joanna Trollope has donated her personal archives to Oxford's Bodleian Library.
The archive will contain research notes, correspondence, and handwritten manuscript drafts of Trollope's 18 contemporary fiction books, as well as her two non-fiction titles, short fiction, and ten historical fiction books, published under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey. The collection will also include media recordings, article and interviews with Trollope, and speeches and lectures given by the author over the years.
Trollope said: "The Bodleian is the ideal home for my archive; I couldn't be more honoured. My association with Oxford goes back a long way and continues to this day. Not only was I an Oxford scholar, but so was my father. Moreover, my own daughters were at Oxford colleges and my young grandchildren are educated in the city too. So, it could not be more satisfactory."
The author, whose career spans 36 years, studied English Literature at St Hugh's College between 1965 and 1967.
Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian said: "Joanna Trollope’s archive gives us an insight into the craft of an immensely popular writer and flag bearer for fiction. Her novels, always handwritten, are meticulously researched and the collection provides an insight into this process. The archive more generally demonstrates the way in which she has championed literature and literacy through her charitable work, her service on many committees, and her involvement in the judging of numerous literary awards."
The collection, which will join the works of other writers, including Trollope's relative, the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope, will be catalogued and made available to readers, with some material featuring in public displays.