Guide to the T.C.H. Jacobs Literary Papers,
1907-1974
Accession number: 2006-0067R
University Libraries
The Pennsylvania State University
Special Collections Library
Rare Books and Manuscripts
Contact Information:
| Pennsylvania State University |
| University Libraries |
| Special Collections Library |
| 104 Paterno Library |
| University Park, PA 16802 |
| 814/865-1793 |
| FAX 814/863-5318 |
| E-mail: sks5@psulias.psu.edu |
| Processed by: |
Meredith Anne Weber and Jeannette Mercer Sabre |
| Date Completed: |
2006
|
| Encoded by: |
Susan Hamburger |
©2006 Pennsylvania State University. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
| Creator: |
Jacobs, T. C.
H.
|
| Title: |
T.C.H. Jacobs Literary
Papers,
1907-1974
|
| Accession: |
2006-0067R |
| Extent: |
2.64 cubic feet |
| Repository: |
Pennsylvania State University, University Libraries, Special
Collections Library
|
Administrative Information
Access
Unrestricted access.
Preferred Citation
T.C.H. Jacobs Literary Papers, 1907-1974, Accession 2006-0067R, Rare
Books and Manuscripts, Special Collections Library, University Libraries,
Pennsylvania State University.
Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Richard Ford, 2005
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in five series: Biography, Correspondence,
Research, Journals, and Writings.
Biographical Note
T.C.H. (Thomas Curtis Hicks) Jacobs, was a prolific English pulp
fiction author of Westerns, romances, true crime stories, and spy and detective
fiction. He was born in Plymouth, Devonshire, England, on 30 December 1899, to
Mary and Robert Jacobs, a printer and paper merchant, and educated in a local
Plymouth grammar school. Jacobs wrote his first published work for the
Western Weekly News at age sixteen.
Jacobs served in the British Army Infantry from 1917 to 1921. In 1918,
he was wounded in action and taken prisoner of war. He escaped and was
demobilized in 1921 as a second lieutenant. After the war, Jacobs joined the
English civil service as a revenue investigating officer. In 1925, he married
Muriel Newbury.
In 1928, Jacobs sold his first novel, an "economic necessity," he
later recalled, as a serial published by A. J. Rhodes. During his 23 years with
the Inland Revenue, Jacobs wrote at night. From 1950 to 1976, he wrote full
time. He began by writing many short stories for boys' magazines, but as the
popularity of short stories for boys' magazines and fiction declined around
1950, he branched into non-fiction writing with a trilogy on the study of
murder.
In 1953, Jacobs became a founding member of the Crime Writers'
Association; in 1960-1961 he served as its chairman. His other memberships
included The Society of Civil Service Authors, the Press Club, Radio and
Television Guild, Society of Authors, and the Bexley Rotary Club. In 1939,
Jacobs attained the distinction of being the first English civil servant to
have a film made from one of his novels,
Traitor Spy.
For much of his life, Jacobs apparently made his home in Bexley, Kent,
England. He died in London in 1976; his obituary was listed under the pseudonym
Jacques Pendower.
In a 1961 interview printed in the
Rotary News in Bexley, Kent (under the pseudonym T.C.H.
Pendower), Jacobs revealed some of his literary method. He attributed having
set working hours and keeping at the writing, rather than inspiration, as key.
He began with a central idea and characters, not an extensive synopsis that
would restrict his writing. In his mysteries, Jacobs noted that he established
the ending first, and then started writing the story. He did develop, however,
dialogue, character descriptions, and notes on locales in his authorial
commonplace books.
As an example of how Jacobs approached the formulaic writing of pulp
fiction, he explained that he wrote his Westerns from his home in Bexley, Kent,
by using the
Encyclopaedia Britannica, fifty stock Western words, and
Texas as the setting for all the stories. In 1957, in a letter to "My Dear
John" (a fellow author who wrote under the pseudonym Col. Vernon Hinchley),
Jacobs told how he expanded a short story to novel length by inserting new
incidents in the middle that began and ended there.
Jacobs wrote more than 100 novels and short stories under many
pseudonyms, including Jacques Pendower, T.C.H. Pendower, Penn Dower, Tom
Curtis, Marilyn Pender, Kathleen Carstairs, Helen Howard, and Anne Penn. His
works, written for popular markets in England, France, Spain, Germany, and the
United States, were translated into most of the languages of Western
Europe.
Scope and Content
The T.C.H. Jacobs Literary Papers, dating from 1907 to 1974, document
the writing life of a twentieth-century pulp fiction writer. The collection
includes Jacobs' childhood writings, authorial commonplace books, research
clippings, typescripts, publications, an authorial record book, and
correspondence.
A manuscript and notebook of children's stories by a young Jacobs
appear in the collection, manifesting an early interest in writing. Other items
reveal preliminary stages of Jacobs' creative process. They include three
commonplace books Jacobs used to develop fictional elements, and newspaper,
magazine, and journal clippings Jacobs gathered for research.
Under his own and other names (e.g., Jacques Pendower and Tom Curtis),
Jacobs wrote in many genres. His writings include detective, romance,
espionage, and Western stories, as well as scenic descriptions, and true crime
and factual spy narratives. Instances of these kinds of writings appear in the
collection in some 62 unpublished transcripts and 42 published articles.
Notable among the typescripts are two adaptations. One is the BBC
script,
The Grensen Murder Case, developed from a short story by
Jacobs. A second is a script for
Traitor Spy, a popular movie derived from another of
Jacobs' short stories, and further adapted by Jacobs and published in the
magazine
Boy's Cinema.
Of particular interest among the publications are the ten installments
of the serial,
Sinister Quest, written by Jacobs under the pseudonym
Marilyn Pender for the pulp magazine,
Miracle. Also included is a T.C.H. Jacobs paperback,
Texas Stranger, published by Western Library.
In addition, the collection includes an authorial record book,
indicating the disposition of Jacobs' typescripts and his working relationships
with his publishers. Several letters from his editors illuminate the
development of his typescripts. Additional letters from two contemporaneous
authors, Dorothy Cooper and Vernon Hinchley, shed light on the lives of pulp
fiction writers and the realities of their market.
T.C.H. Jacobs' work may be identified with several of pulp fictions'
movements, with their characteristic sensationalist themes and underlying
cultural sensitivity. For example, Jacobs' early writings may be seen to be
part of the boys' adventure story movement occurring between 1920 and 1950.
Other of Jacobs' early writings may be identified with popular crime fiction
published between 1930 and 1950. Jacobs' Western stories and romances,
frequently serialized, appealed to popular genre markets of the twentieth
century.
With its clippings from contemporary newspapers and magazines, Jacobs'
research files suggest his attunement to British life and culture.
Increasingly, Jacobs' later work of the 1940s to 1960s reveals this
sensitivity. Reflecting British social concerns, Jacobs explored underlying
motivations in his true crime stories and drew inspiration from events of World
II and the subsequent Cold War for his timely non-fiction, espionage
narratives.
Index Terms
These materials are indexed under the following headings in the
catalog of the Pennsylvania State University. Researchers wishing to find
related materials should search the catalog under these index terms.
Jacobs, T. C. H. (Thomas
Curtis Hicks), 1899-1976
Topical Subjects
Child authors -- Great Britain -- 20th century.
Male authors, English --
20th century
Pulp literature
Correspondence
Manuscripts for
publication
Correspondents
Cooper,
Dorothy
Hinchley,
Vernon
Pseudonyms
Carstairs, Kathleen
Curtis, Tom
Dower, Penn
Howard, Helen
Pender, Marilyn
Pendower, T. C. H.
Penn, Anne
Pendower, Jacques,
1899-1976
Names Jacobs Used as a Child
Jacobs, C.
Jacobs, Curtis
Jacobs, T. C. H.
Processors' Notes
Three issues need to be brought to the attention of researchers.
Name of the Collection
Because the author used a number of pseudonyms, we found it
challenging to select a proper name to title the papers. In fact, the
collection includes envelopes sent to the author's home in Bexley, Kent,
addressed either to T.C.H. Jacobs or to Jacques or T.C.H. Pendower. Moreover,
the Library of Congress includes three associated, authorized name headings:
T.C.H. Jacobs, Jacques Pendower, and Penn Dower. Literary databases and other sources list the author either as
T.C.H. Jacobs (with the pseudonym Jacques Pendower) or vice versa. Several
sources give "Pendower" as the author's real name. These sources include
The Gale Literary Database,
Twentieth-century Crime and Mystery Writers (John M.
Reilly, ed.),
Crime Fiction II: A Comprehensive Bibliography
1749-1990 (Allen J. Hubin), and
Spy Fiction: A Connoisseur's Guide (Donald McCormick
and Katy Fletcher).
AB Bookman's Weekly, January 10, 1977, lists an
obituary for Jacques Pendower. Other sources identify T.C.H. Jacobs as the author's real name.
For example,
Who Was Who Among English and European Authors
1931-1949 (Gale Research Company) lists T.C.H. Jacobs as an author. In
addition, the juvenilia in the collection was signed "Jacobs," and a 1901
census record for the Administrative County of Devonshire, Civil Parish of
Plymouth, England, lists Thomas Curtis Jacobs, age two, as the son of Robert
and Mary Jacobs. On the basis of the 1901 census and the name on the juvenilia, we
chose "T.C.H. Jacobs" for the name of the papers. The names Jacques Pendower
and Penn Dower are entered into the catalog record as additional name headings.
Grierson Dickson Typescripts
Among the "Typescripts with accompanying materials" in Series V
are five murder stories set at various British seaside resorts and attributed
to Grierson Dickson. Despite Jacobs' use of pseudonyms, the authorship of these
materials is not clear.At first glance, the accompanying correspondence may suggest that
"Grierson Dickson," is a collaborative pseudonym adopted by Jacobs and a writer
named Colonel Vernon Hinchley. In correspondence between "Jimmy" (the author
who used the pseudonym Col. Vernon Hinchley) and "Jake" (Jacobs), Jimmy invites
Jacobs to collaborate with him on murder mysteries set at seaside resorts.
Compounding the questions of authorship, Jimmy also mentions that he shares the
pseudonym Hinchley in successful collaborations with another author (identified
as [Bernard] Newman). Another possibility is that the five stories were written by
"Jimmy," and sent to Jacobs as sample chapters for the proposed book they might
author together. In later correspondence, Jimmy responds to Jacobs' concern
that conventional murder stories are unpopular at the time and suggests
collaborating on another type of story, one involving a fictitious spy-master.
In sum, it is unclear whether Jacobs and Hinchley collaborated
and to whom the authorship of these stories should be attributed, other than to
"Grierson Dickson."
Separated Material
The T.C.H. Jacobs collection includes the papers of another author,
Mr. Harry Stuart Daniell, who according to addressed envelopes lived at 44
Bexeley, Kent, where Jacobs lived. These papers will constitute a separate
collection, the Harry Stuart Daniell Literary Papers.
Container List
Series I. Biography
Biography,
1950-1961.
The Biography series includes a 1961 interview with T.C.H. Jacobs
(under the pseudonym T.C.H. Pendower), from the
Rotary News No. 112 (District Rotary International,
Kent and East Sussex, England). In it Jacobs discusses his approach to writing.
The series also contains a 1950 clipping from the
Berleyheath Observer & Kentish Times including Jacobs'
assessment of the current audience for written works.
Box 1
Folder 01
Biographical materials,
1950, 1961
Series II. Correspondence
Correspondence,
1954-1974.
This series includes correspondence with publishers, fans, and
Jacobs' fellow authors Dorothy Cooper and Vernon Hinchley, provides evidence of
the various pseudonyms Jacobs used and further indicates his approach to
writing. The letters also reveal aspects of the daily life of writers, their
monetary concerns, and their relationships with other writers, publishers, and
agents. Moreover, they outline the various genres of pulp fiction and their
popularity in the 1950s and 1960s.
The correspondence is arranged alphabetically by name of
correspondent.
Box 1
Folder 02
Correspondence,
1954-1974 (bulk 1954-1958)
Series III. Research
Research,
1950-1970.
This series contains resources kept by T.C.H. Jacobs to support
his writing. This series was created from loose items among his papers. It
includes pages from medical journals, crime-related information from the Crime
Writers' Association, course materials about writing for television, and
clippings from British magazines and newspapers documenting highly publicized
crime and spy scandals of the 1950s and 1960s. Reflecting Jacobs' interests,
these resources provide glimpses into the sources of Jacobs' inspiration and
knowledge in developing his stories.
The series is arranged chronologically.
Box 1
Folder 03
Espionage / mafia / crime / punishment,
1951-1970 (bulk 1963-1968) and
undated
Box 1
Folder 04
Capital punishment / insanity / juvenile delinquency /
Symonds case,
1953-1973 (bulk 1963-1964)
Box 1
Folder 05
Murder / spies,
1954-1976 (bulk 1954) and
undated
Box 1
Folder 06
New Scotland Yard / understanding criminology / capital
punishment,
1955-1967 (bulk 1956)
Box 1
Folder 07
The secrets case and Master Detective,
1961-1963 (bulk 1961)
Box 1
Folder 08
Espionage / Wynne's return / Penkovsky papers,
1961-1965 (bulk 1964-1965)
Box 1
Folder 09
Crime and espionage,
1961-1968 (bulk 1964)
Box 1
Folder 10
The Medico-Legal Journal,
1962
Box 1
Folder 11 - 12
The Hanratty case,
1962
Box 1
Folder 13
Lord Dennings's Report on the Profumo Affair,
1963
Box 1
Folder 14
The Ward case / Russian defector,
1963-1964
Box 1
Folder 15
The Great Train Robbery,
1963-1964
Box 1
Folder 16
Spy materials (Philby),
1963-1964
Box 1
Folder 17
Spy carton (Criminology),
1963-1964
Box 1
Folder 18
Master Detective and True Detective,
1963-1964
Box 1
Folder 19
Moors murders,
1965-1966
Box 1
Folder 20
Moors murders / Blake case / mystery trawler,
1966
Box 1
Folder 21
Crime Writers' Association,
1968
Box 1
Folder 22
Television Writing School Limited,
undated
Box 3
Folder 01
Great Train Robbery,
1963
Box 3
Folder 02
Espionage / Criminology,
1966-1967
Series IV. Journals
Journals,
1932-1972.
Commonplace Books Sub-series
Commonplace books,
1932-1963.
This sub-series includes three undated commonplace books, each
approximately one hundred pages, used by T.C.H. Jacobs to develop technical
contexts and fictional plots, settings, and characters. Among the entries are
lists of names, French vocabulary, and Western phrases; descriptions of places,
characters, and motives; plot synopses; set-pieces for openings and endings;
and research notes about subjects as varied as World War I poisonous gases,
courtroom layout, and metropolitan police procedures. Inserted clippings from
newspapers and magazines from 1932 to 1963 suggest that Jacobs likely used
these commonplace books over much of his writing career. Richly detailed, they
offer insight into Jacobs' creative process.
Box 1
Folder 23
Commonplace book,
1947, 1952, 1963, and undated
Box 1
Folder 24
Commonplace books,
1955, and undated
Box 1
Folder 25
Commonplace book,
1959-1967, and undated
Box 3
Folder 03
Commonplace book,
1930-1964, and undated
Record Books Sub-series
Record books,
1949-1972.
The subseries Record books consists of a record book of about
100 pages, including the data on his typescripts T.C.H. Jacobs kept from 1949
to 1972. Sets of records document authorial pseudonyms, typescript titles,
dates sent, acceptance status, date paid, amount paid, and number printed. As
well as providing an overview of the disposition of Jacobs' titles, his record
book also offers a view of an author's relationships with the publishers of his
day, among them the three publishing houses of Gibson, Hale, and Bookman.
Box 1
Folder 26
Record book,
1949-1972
Series V. Writings
Writings,
1907-1964.
This series contains the writings of T.C.H. Jacobs in four
sub-series: Juvenilia, Typescripts, Typescripts with accompanying materials,
and Published works. These writings, together with Jacobs' commonplace books,
reflect the repetitive formulas of characters, plot, and dramatic situations
that define pulp fiction.
The sub-series are arranged alphabetically by title.
Juvenilia Sub-series
Juvenilia,
1907-1910.
The sub-series consists of childhood writings by T.C.H. Jacobs.
Written in 1907 and 1910, when Jacobs was eight and eleven years old, "The
Children's Book of Stories" includes illustrated stories, puzzles, and stories
without words (visual narratives). Also present is a separate, undated,
eight-page adventure story, "The wreck off Martin's point and how three scouts
came to the rescue." Both items offer evidence of Jacobs' early interest in
writing and suggest approaches used in teaching children's art and writing in
England during the early 20th century.
Box 1
Folder 27
The Children's Book of Stories and The Wreck off the
Martin's Point . . .,
1907, 1910, and undated
Typescripts Sub-series
Typescripts,
1937 and undated.
The sub-series consists of forty-two undated typescripts and
typescript fragments written by T.C.H. Jacobs under his own name and pseudonyms
Jacques Pendower, Tom Curtis, and Kathleen Carstairs. Typescripts average 2200
words. They provide excellent examples of detective and spy stories, Westerns,
and romances--narratives written in the widely read genre known as pulp
fiction.
Among the typescripts are seven under the name T.C.H. Jacobs.
They include "The Grensen Murder Case" (a typescript consisting of the dialogue
for the BBC radio serial of the same name). There are twenty-five typescripts
attributed to Jacques Pendower, Jacobs' primary pseudonym. These include crime
and espionage short stories and a true-crime feature. The Western "Phantom
Marshal" is penned under the pseudonym Tom Curtis, a name Jacobs often used for
this genre. Two of the typescripts do not indicate the name under which they
were written. One, "Blackmail," appears to be an unpublished detective novel
featuring the character Temple Fortune. The other, presumably documenting a
trip Jacobs made to the United States, is titled "Travelogue of Trip through
California" (June 1937).
Typescript fragments include an excerpt of "Killer in the
House," the preface and title page of "Monsters of Murder," as well as several
synopses, including "Synopsis: Tongues of Scandal," written under the pseudonym
Kathleen Carstairs.
Box 1
Folder 28
Act of Providence and others,
undated
Box 1
Folders 29-32
Blackmail,
undated
Box 1
Folder 33
Dance Hall Girl and others,
undated
Box 2
Folder 01
Footsteps in the Dark and others,
undated
Box 2
Folders 02-03
Number One Suspect (Ashes in the Cellar),
undated
Box 2
Folders 04-05
Phantom Marshal,
undated
Box 2
Folder 06
A Question of Identity and others,
undated
Box 2
Folder 07
The Secret Places,
undated
Typescripts With Accompanying Materials Sub-series
Typescripts with accompanying materials,
1929-1940.
The sub-series consists of typescripts and associated editorial
correspondence, newspaper clippings, publicity, and trade publications. They
reveal Jacobs' working relationships with editors, how he adapted his short
story "The Grensen Murder Case" into a movie script, and how he researched
current events to develop characters and plots. Six of the typescripts are
attributed to T.C.H. Jacobs. In addition, five stories of murders at popular
British seaside resorts are attributed to Grierson Dickson, possibly, but not
certainly, a joint pseudonym used by Vernon Hinchley and T.C.H. Jacobs.
A large number of materials in this sub-series relate to the
movie
Traitor Spy, adapted by Jacobs from his short story
of the same name. A typescript, presumably used in the filming of
Traitor Spy, is dated Jan. 1940. Accompanying
newspaper clippings from 1939 to 1940 provide the historical context of World
War II film production. They cover the stages of the film from pre- to
post-production activities; provide synopses of the plot and details, such as
the participation of the Admiralty in the filming; review the movie; and
provide information on the sequel to follow. Also included are press releases
from Pathe Pictures Ltd. and trade publications featuring the film. A letter
from the editor of
Boy's Cinema, dated Feb. 1940, asks Jacobs for a
synopsis of the story "Traitor Spy." The subsequent version of "Traitor Spy"
printed in
Boy's Cinema is included in the accompanying
materials.
The collection also includes typescripts with accompanying
correspondence for "The Double Trail," a detective Dixon Hawke story, and
"Death of a Scoundrel," a Temple Fortune story. Correspondence between Jacobs
and Mr. Gilchrist of
Adventure magazine, dating between January 1929 and
January 1930, documents the development of a Dixon Hawke serial detective story
that was not published. A letter from Patricia M. Templeton of Robert Hale Ltd.
documents approval of "Death of a Scoundrel" for publication.
Box 2
Folder 08
Travelogue of California,
1937
Box 2
Folders 09-12
Death of a Scoundrel,
1966-1967, and undated
Box 2
Folder 13
Dixon Hawke,
1929, and undated
Box 2
Folders 14-16
Espionage,
1964-1966, and undated
Box 2
Folders 17-18
The Grensen Murder Case,
1943, 1946, and undated
Box 2
Folder 19
Monsters of Murder,
1956, 1959, and undated
Box 2
Folder 20
Murder by the Sea (by Grierson Dickson),
1967, and undated
Box 2
Folders 21-22
Traitor Spy,
1939-1940, and undated
Published Works Sub-series
Published works,
1928-1964.
The sub-series consists of forty-one titles, published from 1928
to 1964, with bylines by T.C.H. Jacobs, Jacques Pendower, and Marilyn Pender.
The collection's published writings suggest the range of Jacobs' stories as
well as their typical venues and audiences.
The thirty-three publications by T.C.H. Jacobs include
descriptions of the landscapes and traditions of Dartmoor and surrounding
areas, published in the
Western Weekly News, 1928-1929; the paperback,
Texas Stranger, published by Western Library;
newspaper stories from Jacobs' true-crime works,
Aspects of Murder and
Cavalcade of Murder; and several "Western Short
Stories," from
Evening News and
Evening News and Star. Also present is a published
plot synopsis advertising Jacobs' story "The Moineau" for serialization. Among
the publications is a complete serialization, "Sinister Quest," written by
Jacobs under his pseudonym Marilyn Pender for the magazine
Miracle. Also seven short stories by Jacques
Pendower range from romance to supernatural to detective fiction and appear in
such publications as
Parade,
Escort, and
Master Detective.
Box 2
Folder 23
The Aftermath of Scandal and others,
1931, 1938-1940, 1955-1964
Box 2
Folder 24
Blue Fire Blackmail and others,
1930, 1958-1964, and undated
Box 2
Folder 25
Dartmoor Hermits and others,
1928-1929
Box 2
Folder 26
Sinister Quest,
1957
Box 2
Folder 27
Texas Stranger and other,
undated and 1931
Box 3
Folder 04
Traitor Spy-related trade magazines,
1939