MS 8714
Papers of Nicholas Jose (1952- )



Scope and Content Note

  • Papers
  • 1979-96
  • 29.4 m. (21 boxes), plus 2 folios
  • Available for reference

The papers were donated to the National Library under the Tax Incentives for the Arts Scheme in three instalments between 1991 and 1994. A smaller addition was made in 1997.

The collection documents Jose's career as a writer. It includes drafts, correspondence, cuttings and reviews relating to The possession of amber (1980), Ideas of the restoration in English literature, 1660-71 (1984), Rowena's field (1984), Feathers or lead (1986), Paper nautilus (1987), Avenue of eternal peace (1989), 'Rabbit in the moon' (a play, 1992), 'Dead city' (a play, 1994), 'Wives of Kwong' (television drama, 1994-95), The rose crossing (1994), The finish line (1994), ESL study guide (c.1995) and Chinese whispers, cultural essays (1995).

The correspondents include Rosemary Creswell, Janet Parfenovics, Paula Latos-Valier, Ron Radford, John McPhee, Dinah Dysart, Yang Wen-i, Johnson Chang, George Papaellinas, Kate Jones, Neil Olson, Ian Templeman, University of Queensland Press and Penguin Australia.


Biographical Note

Nicholas Jose was born on 9 November 1952 in the United Kingdom, but spent his childhood in Broken Hill, Traralgon, Perth and Adelaide. He studied at the Australian National University before being awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in 1974.

Jose lived and worked in various parts of Australia, mainly Canberra, and in England, Italy and China. He lectured in English at the Australian National University and was a Cultural Counsellor for the Australian Embassy in Beijing in 1987-90.

Jose's publications include short stories, novels and a book on English literature, which originated as his doctoral thesis. Paper Nautilus and Avenue of Eternal Peace were written while he was living and working in Italy and China. He won a Literature Board Fellowship in 1989 and 1997.

Reference:

Who's Who of Australian Writers (1991), pp 284-5


Series List

Series

Title

1

The possession of amber (1980), 1979-81

2

Ideas of the restoration in English literature, 1660-71 (1984)

3

Rowena's field (1984)

4

Feathers or lead (1986)

5

Paper nautilus (1987)

6

Avenue of eternal peace (1989)

7

Scrapbook, 1980-87

8

'Rabbit in the moon', 1992

9

'Dead city', 1994

10

'Wives of Kwong', 1994-95

11

The rose crossing (1994), 1993-96

12

The finish line: a long march by bicycle through China and Australia (1994), 1991-95

13

ArtTaiwan (1995)

14

Chinese whispers, cultural essays (1995)

15

ESL study guide, text response: literature… (1995)


Series Description

Series 1

The Possession of Amber (1980), 1979-81

The Possession of Amber is a collection of short stories, with each story set in a different part of the world. The book was published by the University of Queensland Press in 1980. The series include correspondence, drafts, reviews and cuttings

Correspondence with staff of the University Queensland Press including Kym Muddon (Promotions Officer), Malcolm Beazley (Sales Manager), Merril Yule (Head of Editorial Department) and Craig Munro (Fiction Editor).

Folders

1

Four notebooks revealing primary stages of stories and abandoned earlier work

2-13

Drafts and typescripts

14

Copy of the published work (autographed by Nicholas Jose)

15

Correspondence (1979-81), reviews and press clippings relating to the book and dust jacket


Series 2

Ideas of the Restoration in English Literature, 1660-71

Ideas of the Restoration in English Literature, 1660-71 was based on the doctoral thesis (1977), written by Jose while studying at Magdalen College, Oxford. It was published in 1984 by Harvard University Press. The series comprises a copy of the thesis, reviews and a copy of the book.

Folders

1

Doctoral thesis, 1977

2

Copy of the book

3

Reviews and an off-print of a paper by Jose on Antony and Cleopatra


Series 3

Rowena's Field

Rowena's Field was published in 1984 by Rigby Press. The series includes correspondence, research material, reviews, drafts and business papers.

The correspondents are staff of Rigby Press: Lisa Berryman (Executive Editor) and Frank Thompson (General Manager).

The business papers include a photocopy of the agreement with the publisher and royalty statements.

Folders

1

Three notebooks showing reworking of original ideas

2-5

First typescript

6-8

Typescript with alterations and corrections

9-15

Typescript and draft interwoven showing revision and corrections

16-18

Final typescript

19

Synopsis, outline and description of novel for a television mini-series

20-22

Correspondence (1981-85), research material, reviews and business papers. Correspondence relates to the publishing of the book and the treatment of the novel for television

23

Two audio cassettes of radio interviews relating to the book


Series 4

Feathers or lead

Nicholas Jose's book of short stories was published by Penguin Books, Australia in 1986. The series includes correspondence, drafts, cuttings and royalty statements.

The correspondents include staff of Penguin Books, Australia ( Mathew Kelly , Jo Bramble ), Rosemary Creswell, and Sallyanne Moss of White Kite Productions.

Folders

1

Four notebooks heavily reworked with interleaved related notes or passages of text

2-4

Typescript with some notes

5

Final typescript and various notes for setting of the text

6

Correspondence (1985-86), press clippings and royalty statements (1986-87)

7

One audio cassette entitled 'Paul's rug'


Series 5

Paper nautilus

The novel was published by Penguin Books, Australia in 1987. The series include drafts, photograph and correspondence.

The correspondents include Dorothy Green; Mathew Kelly, Jo Bramble and Jackie Yowell (Penguin Books) and Rosemary Creswell.

Folders

1

Eight notebooks containing earliest draft of novel

2

Typescript with pencil and loose leaf notes

3

Complete typescript at an interim stage with cut and paste, photograph and dust jacket

4

Typescripts entitled 'Penny's wedding, February 1965'; 'The boy, Summer, 1961' and 'Drift, 1952'

5

Typescript entitled 'The road, 1946-50'

6

Copy of the book

7

Correspondence, reviews and press clippings, 1986-91


Series 6

Avenue of Eternal Peace

This novel (under the working title 'Crackers') was published by Penguin Books in 1989. The story takes place shortly after the Tiananmen Square massacre in China in 1989. It was adapted for a television 'Children of the Dragon' by Robert Caswell. The series include correspondence, notebooks, cuttings, reviews, drafts and television scripts.

The correspondents are Penguin Books (Peg McColl, Judy Bourguignon, Bruce Sims and Blanche Hewitt), Ray Koppe of Australian Society of Authors and Southern Star Xanadu.

Folders

1

Seven notebooks of early drafts

2-4

Drafts and notes

5-7

Drafts and notes (entitled 'The Emperor from underneath')

8-10

Notes and typescript with corrections

11-13

Typescript with corrections

14-16

Clean typescript for 'Crackers'

17-19

Photocopy typescript draft for 'Crackers' with some notes and correspondence

20-21

Correspondence (1988-90), reviews and cuttings

22

Three copies of the book (American, Australian and Chinese)

23-24

First draft of treatment of 'Crackers' by Robert Caswell

25-27

Second draft of treatment of 'Crackers' by Robert Caswell

28-30

Final draft treatment of 'Crackers' by Robert Caswell

31

Television adaptation by Robert Caswell

32

Release script for production of 'Children of the Dragon'

Folios

1

Photocopy page proofs, with corrections, of 'Firecrackers'

2

Photocopy page proofs, with corrections in pencil, of 'Firecrackers'


Series 7

Scrapbook

Scrapbook containing cuttings on Jose and his books, 1980-87 (1 volume)


Addition August 1997

Series 8

'Rabbit in the moon', 1992

The Sydney Theatre Company held a workshop for the play at the Wharf Theatre in 1992, but it was never performed in public. The series includes drafts and correspondence with Simon Phillips of the State Theatre and Carrillo Gantner of the Playbox Theatre Centre, Monash University.

Folders

1

Correspondence, 1992

2-3

Drafts


Series 9

'Dead city', 1994

The play was performed at the Belvoir Street Theatre and the Q Theatre in 1994. The series include correspondence (Rodney Fisher, Tony Michael, Bruce Sims and Geremie Barmé), drafts of the script, working papers, advertising material, programs, reviews and one CD containing Erich W. Korngold's music, adapted and arranged for Chinese instruments by Max Lyandvert.

Folders

1

Correspondence, working papers, drafts, advertising material, programs, reviews and one CD, 1994

2

Drafts

3

Research material and reviews, 1994


Series 10

'Wives of Kwong', 1994-95

The 'Wives of Kwong', written by Jose, William Yang and Tony Ayers, is a drama series about a Chinese-Australian family in Darwin over a hundred year period. It was commissioned by Penny Chapman for ABC television, but it was never produced.

Folders

1

'Water' (Fourth draft by Jose, 1994)
'Wood' (Fourth draft by Jose, 1994)

2

'Earth' (Fourth draft by Tony Ayres, 1994)
'Metal' (Fourth draft by Tony Ayres, 1994)

3

'Flame' (Fourth draft by William Yang, 1994)
'Wind' (Fourth draft by Jose and William Yang, n.d.)

4

'Flame' (Fifth draft by William Yang and Tony Ayres, 1995)
'Wind' (Fifth draft by Jose, William Yang and Tony Ayres, 1995)


Series 11

The rose crossing (1994), 1993-96

The book was first published in London by Hamish Hamilton in 1994. The series includes correspondence (Cameron and Creswell, Bryony Cosgrove of Penguin, Kate Jones of Hamish Hamilton and Neil Olson of US publisher Donadio & Ashworth) and research material (including papers concerning Jose's travel to Mauritius and a related articles for the Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend, 20 March 1993), photocopies and notes.

Folders

1-3

Three notebooks of handwritten first drafts

4

First computer draft with revisions

5

Pages from first computer draft with annotations by Humphrey McQueen

6

Second computer draft with revisions

7

Bryony Cosgrove's copy of final draft

8

Page proofs with corrections

9

Research material

10

Jackets, design and a copy of UK catalogue

11

Reviews, notes and cuttings, 1994-95

12

Correspondence with Cameron Creswell and Hamish Hamilton, 1993-95

13

Correspondence with US publisher, 1995-96

14

Correspondence with Penguin and Cameron and Creswell, 1993-95

15

Correspondence concerning Chinese translation by Li Yao, 1995-96

16

Correspondence concerning French and German translations by Librarie Plon and Berlin Verlag, 1995-96

17

Two copies of the book (Penguin and Hamish Hamilton)


Series 12

The finish line: a long march by bicycle through China and Australia (1994), 1991-95

The book was written by Sang Ye, Nicholas Jose and Sue Trevaskes and it was published by the University of Queensland Press in 1994. The series includes drafts (some in Chinese), correspondence (Rose Creswell, Clare Forster and Ian Templeman), reviews, one cassette and a copy of the book.

Folders

1

Draft of biographical essay on San Ye

2

Correspondence, 1991-93

3

Drafts

4-5

Drafts (some in Chinese)

6

Speech given by Jose at the Sydney Writers' Festival, n.d.

7

Reviews, 1994-95

8

Copy of the book and a cassette


Series 13

ArtTaiwan, 1994-95

The book, ArtTaiwan, was published in Sydney by G&B Arts International in 1995. It deals with contemporary art exchanges between Australia and Taiwan in 1992 and 1993. The series includes correspondence and drafts.

The correspondents are Bernice Murphy and Janet Parfenovics (Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney), Paula Latos-Valier (Art Gallery of Western Australia), Ron Radford (Art Gallery of South Australia), John McPhee (National Gallery of Victoria), Dinah Dysart (Art and Australia), Yang Wen-i (Taipei Fine Arts Museum), Johnson Chang (Hanart T.Z. Gallery, Hong Kong) and Dallas Cox (Powerhouse Museum).

Folder

1

Correspondence, 1994

2

Drafts of 'Notes on cultural development in Taiwan'

3

Copy of ArtTaiwan (1995)


Series 14

Chinese whispers, cultural essays (1995), 1994-96

The book was published in Adelaide by Wakefield Press in 1995. The series include correspondence (Wakefield Press and George Papellinas of Angus & Robertson), drafts, cuttings and reviews.

Folder

1

Correspondence, 1994-95

2

Edited drafts of essays

3

Drafts and documentation relating to the individual essays

4

Cuttings of articles and reviews, 1995-96

5

Articles, book reviews and talks relating to China, 1983-92

6

Proofs

7

A copy of the book


Series 15

ESL study guide (c.1995)

The guide, written by Viv Tellefson and Sophie Arkoudis, with a foreword by Jose, is a theoretical and practical guide to literature study based on Jose's novel Paper nautilus. It was published by the Melbourne Community Information Service, Directorate of School Education, c1995.

(1 folder)


Box List

Box

Series

Folder

1

1

1-8

2

1

9-15

3

2

1-3

4

3

1-5

5

3

6-13

6

3

14-21

7

3

22-23

7

4

1-5

8

4

6-7

8

5

1-5

9

5

6-7

9

6

1-5

10

6

6-13

11

6

14-21

12

6

22-27

13

6

28-33

13

7

1

14

8

1-3

14

9

1-3

15

10

1-5

16

11

1-6

17

11

7-12

18

11

13-17

18

12

1-3

19

12

4-8

19

13

1-2

20

13

3

20

14

1-5

21

14

6-7

21

15

1

Series

Items

6

1

6

2

Guide prepared July 1994. Revised February 1999