Lessing letters

Doris Lessing donates letters to UEA:

Christopher Bigsby, Dean of Advancement and Professor of American Studies, has been responsible for bringing many renowned writers to UEA as part of the annual international literary festivals and has known Lessing for more than 25 years. “The whole collection offers an insight into Doris Lessing's career and the literary world,” he said.

“These letters are not just about her personal relationships, they are about her career, her writing, the first book she would publish, her political views and activities. They are also about her sense of what was going on in Rhodesia and the world at that time, so for anyone who is interested in any aspect of her career these are like gold. They are wonderful.”

Lessing herself said those to Mr Whitehorn were from an “old love affair from the war” and that she had not re-read them.

Signed ‘Tigger’, the letters comment on everything from the social situations and relationships Lessing experiences in Rhodesia and the latest book she has read, to pregnancy and motherhood and, towards the end, her move to England.