MS 8714
Papers of Nicholas Jose (1952- )
- 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.
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 |
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 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 |
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' |
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'
|
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 |
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 |
Guide prepared July 1994. Revised February 1999
|