Dorothy Daniels Papers
Collection Overview
Abstract
The Dorothy Daniels Papers include manuscript materials for more than 50 books by the author. Materials date from around 1965 to 1985.
Dates
- Creation: 1965-1985, undated
Extent
21.15 Cubic Feet (51 archives boxes.)
Creator
- Daniels, Dorothy, 1915-2001 (Person)
Scope and Contents
The Dorothy Daniels Papers house 110 manuscripts of 56 books, 28 synopses, 16 sets of galley sheets and 127 books. The manuscripts are arranged by book including related materials such as author's notes for story line, chapter lengths and character descriptions. Correspondence concerning a particular manuscript is housed with that manuscript. The author's fan mail, 1972-1982, is another strength of the collection. It is arranged by year and by name. This correspondence reflects the fact that many correspondents began as fans and over the years have become more of a friend in nature. Researchers interested in the Gothic genre and the study of writing and editing should find this collection invaluable.
Biographical / Historical
Dorothy Smith Daniels (1915-2001) was born in Connecticut on July 1, 1915. She earned a diploma from Central Connecticut State College in New Britain, Connecticut. She married Norman A. Daniels, a writer, on October 7, 1937. Daniels began her writing career in the early fifties while living in New York City by writing short stories. She became ill, discontinued writing, and moved to California in 1956.
In 1961 Daniels resumed her career with hard cover doctor-nurse stories. Paperback Library became interested in her books and purchased them. They sold so well that they contacted Daniels to do original doctor-nurse paperbacks. Paperback Library then suggested that she try her hand at Gothics. Her husband, who had been writing detective and suspense stories for years, offered to guide her in the media. She switched to Gothics and wrote exclusively in that genre from that point on, with over one hundred forty novels in print. She also wrote under the pseudonyms: Danielle Dorsett, Angela Gray, Cynthia Kavanaugh, Suzanne Somers, Helen Gray Weston, Helaine Ross, and Geraldine Thayer.
Dorothy Daniels died on December 3, 2001 in Camarillo, California.
Conditions Governing Access
No known access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright and other restrictions may apply to the materials in this collection. Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The materials in this collection were transferred to the Browne Popular Culture Library by Dorothy Daniels beginning in 1969, with several additions since.
Genre / Form
- Title
- Guide to the Dorothy Daniels Papers
- Author
- Nancy White Lee, Patricia Falk, Steve Ammidown
- Date
- 1986, 2009, 2020
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin