Guide to the Florence King papers, 1897-2015

(bulk 1936-2015)

John Hay Library , University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI, 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2018

Collection Overview

Title:	Florence King papers
Date range:	1897-2015, (bulk 1936-2015)
Creator:	King, Florence
Extent:	8 linear feet
Abstract:	Florence King’s papers document her life as a writer and social commentator. This collection includes correspondence with publishers and agents, book contracts, publicity, reviews, tearsheets, manuscripts and letters that King received from fans of her work. The manuscripts, tearsheets, literary correspondence and copies of columns provide great detail into Miss King’s writing career. Her financial records give insight into what a writer of her time was paid for her work. The correspondence often includes the letters King received as well as a copy of her reply which makes it easy to follow conversations and see context. There are a few personal photographs and letters with friends but not much of an intimate nature.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library , University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	Ms.2016.001

Scope & content

Florence King’s papers document her life as a writer and social commentator. This collection includes correspondence with publishers and agents, book contracts, publicity, reviews, tearsheets, manuscripts and letters that King received from fans of her work. The manuscripts, tearsheets, literary correspondence and copies of columns provide great detail into Miss King’s writing career. Her financial records give insight into what a writer of her time was paid for her work. The correspondence often includes the letters King received as well as a copy of her reply which makes it easy to follow conversations and see context. There are a few personal photographs and letters with friends but not much of an intimate nature.

Series 1. Biographical and personal information. This series contains early childhood and school records through college. It also contains family photographs, marriage certificates for family members, mementos and a genealogical search for information about her grandmother Florence Hart King. Miss King’s personal correspondence with romantic partners, friends, and relatives are also included.

Series 2. Literary. Two boxes house documents pertaining to Miss King’s first writing jobs at the Raleigh News and Observer newspaper, her pornographic writing under the pseudonym Veronica King, and romance novels written under the pseudonym Laura Buchanan. Her later publications were all published under her own name. This series includes book contracts, publicity, reviews, and correspondence with her literary agent at the William Morris Agency, editors at St. Martin’s Press, and publishers. She also kept a lot of letters from people who enjoyed her books which she separated into 2 categories: fans and obsessed fans. The only original manuscript in the collection is for her book The Florence King Reader . This series also includes her literary journals and notes where she wrote down ideas. The books are: Southern Ladies and Gentlemen , WASP, Where is thy Sting? , He: An Irreverent Look at the American Male , When Sisterhood was in Flower , Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady , Reflections in a Jaundiced Eye , Lump it or Leave it , With Charity Toward None , and The Florence King Reader .

Series 3. National Review. Two boxes chronicle the years that Miss King was a columnist for the National Review. Her column was titled The Misanthrope’s Corner and it ran from 1991-2002. She published a compilation of those columns in a book titled STET, Damnit! in 2003. She started writing again for the National Review with a column called The Bent Pin which ran from 2006-2007 and again during 2009-2012. Included are tear sheets of her columns, correspondence with agents and staff at the National Review, the Pudenta Crisis 1994-1995, the case of Molly Ivins’ plagiarism in 1995, and letters from fans that she termed “nut mail". Correspondence regarding her retirement from The Misanthrope’s Corner and her firing from The Bent Pin are also included

Series 4. Personal Appearance. This series documents her appearance at the University of Texas on March 25, 1987 for a program called “Funny Women by Pen and Performance" along with many other female comedians and writers.

Series 5. Other Writings. In her career, Miss King wrote numerous book reviews, pieces for magazines and newspapers, and publicity blurbs for other writer’s books. Included are the reviews, correspondence, publicity quotes, book jackets and inscriptions. There is also a piece on Bill Clinton written for the Los Angeles Times in 1993. Some of the publications she contributed to are: Cosmopolitan, Playgirl, Newsday, Free Lance-Star, Oxford American, American Spectator, Washington Times, American Enterprise, Girlfriends, The Spectator, and American Conservative.

Series 6. Writer Friends and V.I.P.s. This series includes correspondence with other authors and celebrities. Most notably: William F. Buckley, Jr., Helen Gurley Brown, F. Reid Buckley, Fannie Flagg, Andrew Ferguson, Liz Smith, and Rosemary Daniell.

Series 7. Legal and Financial Documents. This series relates to her writing income. It includes ledger book pages detailing book review payments, royalty statements, writing income check stubs, and tax and financial records.

Series 8. Daily Log Books. These are personal and professional yearly log books that contain daily notations from 1985-2004 and 2015.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Buckley, William F., Jr., 1925-
• Flagg, Fannie
• Ivins, Molly

Subject Organizations

• William Morris Agency
• St. Martin’s Press
• National Review

Subject Topics

• American wit and humor--20th century
• Authors, American--20th century
• Authors and publishers--United States
• Journalists--American--20th century
• Copyright--Royalties

Document Types

• Book reviews

Subject Topics

• Language and Literature

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into 8 series based on Florence King’s folder titles. The folders are organized chronologically within each series:

Series 1. Biographical and personal information

• Subseries A. Biographical
• Subseries B. Correspondence
• Subseries C. Publicity
• Subseries D. End-of-life matters

Series 2. Literary

• Subseries A. Book Projects in Chronological Order
• Subseries B. Contracts/Proof of Authorship
• Subseries C. Agent and publisher correspondence
• Subseries D. Miscellaneous business correspondence
• Subseries E. Fan mail
• Subseries F. Journals and notes

Series 3. National Review

Series 4. Personal Appearance

Series 5. Other Writings

Series 6. Writer Friends and V.I.P.s

Series 7. Legal and Financial Documents

Series 8. Daily Log Books

Biographical/Historical Note

Florence Virginia King was born in Washington D.C. on January 5, 1936 and died in Fredericksburg, VA on January 6, 2016. Her parents were Louise Rudding King (American) and Herbert Frederick King (British). Miss King was an author, columnist, contributor and book critic. She was best known for her memoir “Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady" and the column “The Misanthrope’s Corner" which ran from 1991-2002 in the conservative National Review magazine.

Florence King did not embrace the cultural shift of inclusion. She was an outspoken, unapologetic voice against political correctness, feminism, and environmentalism. Her writings reflected her beliefs and sharp wit.

Miss King, as she preferred to be called, earned a bachelor’s degree in history from American University in 1957. She completed one year of graduate school at the University of Mississippi. Miss King was a history teacher for a short time in Suitland, MD. She embarked on a writing career in the 1960s and continued to write until shortly before her death. During her career, Miss King wrote articles, books, columns, and book reviews.

In her life she resided in various parts of the United States: Washington, D.C.; Raleigh, NC; Bayonne, NJ; New York, NY; Mattapoisett, MA; Richmond, VA; Seattle, WA; Bellevue, WA; and Fredericksburg, VA.

Bibliography

Early writings:

Raleigh News and Observer from 1964-1967

Pornography, under the pseudonym Veronica King, from 1969-1973

Romance, under the pseudonym Laura Buchanan, from 1973-1980

Books:

Southern Ladies and Gentlemen . Stein & Day, 1975

Wasp, Where is Thy Sting? . Stein & Day, 1977

He: An Irreverent Look at the American Male . Stein & Day, 1978

When Sisterhood was in Flower . Viking Press, 1982

Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady . St. Martin’s Press, 1985

Reflections of a Jaundiced Eye . St. Martin’s Press, 1989

Lump it or Leave it . St. Martin’s Press, 1991

With Charity Toward None . St. Martin’s Press, 1992

Columns:

The Misanthrope’s Corner column for the National Review, 1991-2002

The Bent Pin column for the National Review, 2006-2007, 2009-2012

Anthologies:

The Florence King Reader . St. Martin’s Press, 1995

STET, Damn It! collection from The Misanthrope’s Corner published by the National Review in 2003

Withering Slights collection from The Bent Pin published by the National Review in 2014.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Florence King transferred her copyright to all her writings to Brown University. For permission to publish or cite materials from the Florence King papers, please contact the John Hay Library, Brown University.
Preferred citation:	Florence King papers, Ms.2016.001, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library , University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI, 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Gift of Florence King in 20 installments starting in 1999. The final installment came from the Estate of Florence King in 2017.
Processing information:	Miss King organized most of the materials and designated a folder name prior to sending them to Brown University. As she sent subsequent materials she would note if they belonged in a former folder or should be placed in a new one. We have kept the materials in the folders she assigned and have created eight series.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Charleen Belcher.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the RIAMCO EAD spreadsheet, 2018
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Separated material:

The published books written by Florence King, some of which have her signature and or annotations added by her, as well as books gifted to her by other authors have been cataloged separately and are available through the Brown University Library catalog by searching for the term "Florence King papers"

Inventory

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