Florence King papers (Ms.2016.001)

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.