Table of Contents

Summary Information

Biographical Note

Scope and Content

Administrative Information

Controlled Access Headings

Collection Inventory

Correspondence

Adult Fiction

Juvenile Fiction

Non-fiction

Galleys, Proofs and Illustrations

Articles and Short Stories

Lectures

Screenplays and Screen Treatments

Plays

Poetry

Sound Recordings

Finding aid prepared by Rebecca Hirsch, July 2010

The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.

Summary Information

Repository

USC Libraries Special Collections

Creator - Author

Holton, Leonard, 1915-1983

Creator - Author

O'Connor, Patrick, 1915-1983

Creator - Author

Webb, Christopher, 1915-1983

Creator - Author

Wibberley, Leonard, 1915-1983

Title

Leonard Wibberley papers

Collection no.

0172

Date [inclusive]

1953-1983

Extent

17.33 Linear feet, 15 boxes, 1 map case file

Language

English

Abstract

This collection contains the papers of the author Leonard Wibberley (1915-1983). Wibberley wrote over 100 books over the course of his career. His papers include manuscripts, galleys, and typescripts for books written by him.

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Biographical Note

Leonard Wibberley was born April 9, 1915, in Dublin, Ireland. He attended schools in Ireland and England and was an apprentice to a London publisher. At sixteen, he became a copy boy at the Sunday Dispatch; during the Depression, he worked as street fiddler, ditch digger, dishwasher, and cook. From 1932-1936, he was a reporter for the  London Daily Mirror and assistant London editor for the  Malayan Straits Times and the  Singapore Free Press; he then became editor of the  Trinidad Evening News in the West Indies. Wibberley worked for the Shell Oil Company in Trinidad from 1939-1941. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1943 to work for Walsh Kaiser Shipyards while also serving as cable editor for the Associated Press. He was the American correspondent for the  London Evening News and a staff writer for  The Los Angeles Times from 1950 until his death of a heart attack on November 22, 1983, in Santa Monica, California.

Wibberley wrote more than one hundred books, including stories for children, historical novels, satires, plays, and mysteries. Many of these were written under the pseudonyms Leonard Holton, Christopher Webb, and Patrick O'Connor. Wibberley is best known for his five political satires The Mouse That Roared,  Beware of the Mouse,  The Mouse on the Moon,  The Mouse on Wall Street, and  The Mouse that Saved the West; the first two were made into successful motion pictures.

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Scope and Content

This collection contains typescripts, manuscripts, and galleys for various works written by Leonard Wibberley. It also includes the texts of some of his lectures and articles and some of his business correspondence. Please see the Scope and Content notes of individual series for more information.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

USC Libraries Special Collections
July 2010
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California, 90089-0189
213-740-5900
specol@usc.edu

Conditions Governing Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

The collection contains published materials; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers on reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers when reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Acquisition

The Leonard Wibberley papers were donated to USC by Leonard Wibberley in the late 1960s, by his heirs in 2002 and by the archives of Shell Aircraft International in 2004.

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Controlled Access Headings

Genre(s)

• Correspondence
• Manuscripts
• Page proofs
• Scripts
• Typescripts

Personal Name(s)

• Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 -- Fiction
• Wibberley, Leonard, 1915-1983 -- Archives

Subject(s)

• Authors, Irish--California--Los Angeles--20th century--Archival resources
• Children's literature--Archival resources
• Historical fiction--Archival resources
• Screenwriters--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
• Travel writing--Archival resources

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Collection Inventory

Series 1:  Correspondence  Scope and Content Series contains Wibberley's correspondence with his agents and publishers for the years 1956-1962. Arrangement Series is arranged in chronological order.
			Box	Folder
Bills Paid 1967			1	1
Correspondence			1	2
Correspondence with Agent/Publisher 1953			1	3
Correspondence with Agents 1956-1960			1	4-5
Correspondence with Publishers 1956-1960			1	6-7
Correspondence 1959			1	8
Correspondence with Publishers 1960-1962			1	9
Correspondence with Agents 1961-1962			1	10
KCRW Stuff			1	11
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Series 2:  Adult Fiction  Scope and Content Series contains working manuscripts and final typescripts of Wibberley's works of fiction written for adults, including the original manuscript of The Mouse that Roared. Other titles present in this series include  The Centurion,  The Hands of Cormac Joyce,  Adventures of an Elephant Boy, and  The Road from Toomi. Arrangement Series is arranged in alphabetical order by title of work.				Box 1-4, 14
			Box	Folder
Adventures of an Elephant Boy - Working Manuscript			1	12
Adventures of an Elephant Boy - Final Typescript			1	13
The Better Mousetrap			1	14
Beware of the Mouse - Typescript			1	15-16
The Centurion - Typescript			1	17-18
The Centurion - Carbon Copy			1	19-20
The Centurion - First Attempt			1	21
The Centurion - Working Manuscript			1	22-23
Corner of Paradise			1	24
The Dark Night of Father Felix			1	25
The Dark Night of Father Felix (rough draft)			1	26
The Dark Night of Father Felix (complete)			1	27
The Devil to Play			2	1
Envoy Extraordinary - Carbon Copy			2	2
Envoy Extraordinary - Same Characters as  Mrs. Searwoods Secret Weapon			2	3
Envoy Extraordinary - Incomplete			2	4-5
A Feast of Freedom - Original Manuscript			2	6
Flint's Island - Typescript			2	7-8
Flint's Island - Manuscript and Layouts			2	9
Flowers by Request			2	10
The Gates of Hell			2	11-12
The Hands of Cormac Joyce - Final Typescript			2	13
The Hands of Cormac Joyce - Working Manuscript			2	14
Homeward to Ithaca			2	15
The Island of the Angels -Typescript			2	16
The Island of the Angels - Working Manuscript			2	17
Last Stand of Father Felix			2	18
1776-1976 The Meeting			2	19
Meeting with a Great Beast - Final Typescript			2	20
Meeting with a Great Beast - Typescript with Suggestions			2	21
The Mirror of Hell			2	22
The Mouse on the Moon - False Start			2	23
Mouse on Wall Street (complete) P.1-111			2	24
Mouse on Wall Street (complete) P.112-217			2	25
Mouse on Wall Street: Dead Matter - Manuscript			2	26
The Mouse That Roared - Rough Draft (p.1 - 96)			2	27
The Mouse That Roared - Rough Draft (p.97 - end)			2	28
The Mouse That Saved The West			3	1-2
The Nightmare - Manuscript			3	3-7
The Nightmare - Manuscript and Correspondence			3	8
One in Four - Working Manuscript			3	9-10
One in Four - Outline for Novel			3	11
One in Four - S.C.O.P. p.1-198			3	12
One in Four - S.C.O.P. p.199-346			3	13
Out of the Depths - Carbon Copy			3	14-15
Out of the Depths - Working Manuscript			3	16-17
A Pact with Satan - Working Manuscript			3	18-19
A Problem in Angels - Working Manuscript			3	20
The Road from Toomi - Typescript Titled Dimension  "Beyond Africa"			3	21
The Road from Toomi - Final Typescript			3	22-23
The Road from Toomi - Working Manuscript			3	24
The Saint Maker			3	25
The Saint Maker - Typescript			4	1-2
Sea Captain from Salem - Manuscript			4	3-5
The Sea Witch - Signed by Robert Nathan			4	6
Secret of the Doubting Saint (Incomplete)			4	7
Seven Hills (a.k.a.  Testament of Theophilus)			4	8-11
Stranger at Killnock - Missing a Few Pages			4	12
A Touch of Jonah - Miscellaneous Typescript Pages			4	13
A Touch of Jonah - Working Manuscript			4	14-15
Unidentified Manuscript about Grand Fenwick			4	16-17
Untitled Novel - Typescript			4	18-19
Untitled Novel - Typescript			4	20-21
Miscellaneous Typescript Pages			4	22-24
Miscellaneous Partial Manuscripts			4	25
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Series 3:  Juvenile Fiction  Scope and Content Series contains working manuscripts and final typescripts of Wibberley's works of fiction written for children and young adults, including his four-book fictionalization of the life of Thomas Jefferson and his John Treegate series. Other titles present in this series include The Quest of Excalibur,  Attar of the Ice Valley,  Encounter Near Venus, and  The Crime of Martin Coverly. Arrangement Series is arranged in alphabetical order by title of work.
			Box	Folder
The Adventures of an Elephant Boy (p. 1 - 96)			4	26
The Adventures of an Elephant Boy (p. 97 - end)			4	27
The Ann and Hope Mutiny			4	28
The Ann and Hope Mutiny (p. 1 - 114)			4	29
The Ann and Hope Mutiny (p. 115 - end)			4	30
Attar of the Sci-Valley			4	31
Attar of the Ice Valley - Final Typescript			5	1
The Ballad of Mocha Mick - Manuscript			5	2
Bases Loaded by Patrick O'Connor - Manuscript			5	3-4
Beyond Hawaii - Typescript Corrected by Author			5	5
Black Tiger at Bonneville			5	6
Black Tiger at Bonneville
			Box	Folder
Black Tiger of Indianapolis by Patrick O'Connor			5	7
Black Tiger of Indianapolis by Patrick O'Connor - Complete			5	8
A Car Called Camellia by Patrick O'Connor			5	9
Typescript Pages from A Car Called Camellia and  Spare Cabin			5	10
A Car Called Camellia by Patrick O'Connor - Working Manuscript			5	11-12
The Centurion (p. 4 - 13)			5	13
The Crime of Martin Coverly - Unbound Proof			5	14
The Quest of Martin Coverly (original title) - a.k.a.  The Crime of Martin Coverly			5	15
The Quest of Martin Coverly			5	16
A Dawn in the Trees - Working Manuscript			5	17
Deliver Us From Wolves			5	18
Deliver Us From Wolves - Incomplete/Unnumbered Pages			5	19
Encounter at Flint's Island			5	20
Encounter at Flint's Island - Final Typescript			5	21-22
Encounter Near Venus - Working Manuscript			5	23
Encounter Near Venus			5	24
Eusebius the Phoenician - Working Manuscript			5	25-26
The Five Dollar Watch Mystery - mixed up, incomplete			5	27
The Fox Who Was Too Clever			5	28
The Gales of Spring - Working Manuscript			6	1
The Gales of Spring - p.1-109			6	2
The Gales of Spring - p.110-end			6	3
The Hands of Comac Joyce - incomplete			6	4
Homeward to Ithaca			6	5
Jefferson - Part of All 3 Books Combined			6	6
Journey to Untor - Working Manuscript			6	7
Journey to Untor - Carbon Copy			6	8
The King and the Goats			6	9
Leopard's Prey			6	10
Little League Family			6	11-12
Mark Toyman's Inheritance			6	13
Matt Tyler's Chronicle - Missing 2-7			6	14-15
The Mutiny of the Ann and Hope - Miscellaneous Pages from Working Manuscript			6	16
The Mutiny of the Ann and Hope - Working Manuscript			6	17
Perilous Gold - Manuscript			6	18-19
Peter Treegate's War - Working Manuscript			6	20
Peter Treegate's War - Duplicate Pages			6	21
Peter Treegate's War - Unpublished Version			6	22-23
The Quest of Excalibur - Carbon Copy			6	24-25
The Quest of Excalibur - Preliminary Sketch			6	26
The Quest of Excalibur - Typescript			6	27-28
The Quest of Excalibur - Working Manuscript			7	1
The Quest of the Otter - Working Manuscript			7	2
The Quest of Excalibur - Miscellaneous Typescript Pages			7	3-4
The Quest of Excalibur - Manuscript titled "The Return of Arthur"			7	5-6
The Quest of Excalibur (Incomplete Chapters)			7	7-8
The Raising of the Dubhe - Working Manuscript			7	9
Red Pawns			7	10-11
The River of Pee Dee Jack - Working Typescript			7	12-13
Sea Captain from Salem - Final Typescript			7	14-15
Sea Captain from Salem - Unused Chapter			7	16
Seawind from Hawaii - Final Typescript			7	17-18
Seawind from Hawaii - Original Typescript			7	19
South Swell at Hermosa - Working Manuscript			7	20
Sword of Thorgrim - Typescript			7	21-22
Time of the Harvest - Carbon Copy			7	23-24
Time of the Harvest - Typescript			7	25
Time of the Harvest - Working Manuscript			8	1
Treasure at Twenty Fathoms			8	2
Treegate Novel			8	3
Treegate's Raiders - Incomplete Typescript			8	4
Treegate's Raiders - Finished Manuscript			8	5-6
Treegate's Raiders (Incomplete)			8	7
Treegate's Raiders (p. 109 - end)			8	8
Treegate's Raiders (p. 1 - 108)			8	9
Unidentified Treegate Typescript			8	10
The Watermelon Mystery			8	11
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Series 4:  Non-fiction  Scope and Content Series contains working manuscripts and final typescripts of Wibberley's works of non-fiction. Titles present in this series include No Garlic in the Soup!: A Portuguese Adventure,  The Land That Isn't There: An Irish Adventure,  Voyage by Bus: Seeing America by Land Yacht, and  Guarneri: Story of a Genius. Arrangement Series is arranged in alphabetical order by title of work.
			Box	Folder
Ah Julian - Original Manuscript			8	12
Autobiography			8	13
Book about America for British Readers (unpublished)			8	14
The Coming of the Green - As Published by Henry Holt			8	15-16
Fiji: Island of the Dawn - Final Typescript			8	17-18
Fiji: Island of the Dawn - Working Manuscript			8	19-20
Guarneri			8	21
Hound of the Sea - Working Manuscript			8	22-23
Irish: "If you were to pick up the whole of Ireland"			9	1
The Land That Wasn't There (Incomplete)			9	2
The Land That Wasn't There (Carbon Copy)			9	3-4
The Luthier of God (Guarneri)			9	5
No Garlic in the Soup (p. 1 - 111)			9	6
No Garlic in the Soup (p. 112 - end)			9	7
Oliver Goldsmith or  The Good Natured Man			9	8
[ Oliver Goldsmith or  The Good Natured Man] - Miscellaneous Pages and Notes
			Box	Folder
Oliver Goldsmith (p. 1 - 105)			9	12
Oliver Goldsmith (p. 106 - 200)			9	13
Oliver Goldsmith (p. 201 - 300)			9	14
Oliver Goldsmith (p. 301 - 357/end)			9	15
Oliver Goldsmith - Manuscript			9	16-18
Secret of the Doubting Saint - Working Manuscript			9	19-20
The Shannon Sailors - Final Typescript			9	21-22
The Shannon Sailors - Dead Matter			9	23
Sir Winston Churchill (Incomplete)			9	24
Something to Read (Complete)			9	25
Third Time Lucky			9	26-27
Toward a Distant Island - Final Typescript			10	1-2
Towards a Distant Shore - Working Manuscript			10	3
Unidentified Working Manuscript			10	4
Ventures into the Deep - Working Manuscript			10	5-6
Voyage by Bus - Final Typescript			10	7-8
Yesterday's Land			10	9
Voyage by Bus (p. 115 - end)			10	10
Voyage by Bus (p. 9 - 114)			10	11
Voyage by Bus - Rough Draft (p. 1 - 114)			10	12
Voyage by Bus - Rough Draft (p. 115 - end)			10	13
Zebulon Pike - Soldiers and Explorer			10	14
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Series 5:  Galleys, Proofs and Illustrations  Scope and Content Series contains galleys and page proofs for books written by Leonard Wibberley. Titles present in this series include The Crime of Martin Coverly,  The Centurion,  Voyage by Bus: Seeing America by Land Yacht, and  Perlious Gold. Series also includes page layouts for  Little League Family and illustrations for  Beware of the Mouse and  The Quest of Excalibur. Arrangement Series is arranged in alphabetical order by title of work.		Map-case 5	Drawer 4	Box 9-11, 15
			Box	Folder
Adventures of Elephant Boy - Galley and Page Proofs			14	1
Attar of the Ice Valley			14	2
Attar of the Ice Valley - Master Proof			14	4
Beware of the Mouse - Galley			14	5
Beware of the Mouse - Illustrations			14	6
The Centurion			14	7-8
The Centurion - Galley			14	9-10
The Centurion - Printer's Proof			14	11-12
The Centurion - Production Galleys			14	13
			Map-case	Drawer
Cover Illustrations			5	4
			Box	Folder
Crime of Martin Coverly			14	14-16
Crime of Martin Coverly - Galley Proofs			14	17
Encounter Near Venus			15	1
Encounter Near Venus - Master Proofs			15	2
The Islands of the Angels			15	3
Little League Family			15	4-5
Meeting With a Great Beast			15	6
Mouse on Wall Street			15	7
Perilous Gold			15	8-9
The Quest of Excalibur - Galley			15	10
The Road from Toomi - Galleys			15	11
The Road from Toomi - Proofs			15	12
Shannon Sailors			15	13
The Time of the Lamb - Galley and Illustration			15	14
Ventures into the Deep - Uncorrected Galley Proof			15	15
Voyage by Bus			15	16-18
Voyage by Bus - Author's Galleys			16	1
Voyage by Bus - Galley			16	2
Voyage by Bus - Galley Proofs			16	3
Voyage by Bus - Maps and Slides			16	4
Voyage by Bus - Page Proofs			16	5
Zebulon Pike			16	6
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Series 6:  Articles and Short Stories  Scope and Content Series contains edited typescripts of articles and short stories written by Wibberley, including his short story "Prevarication Jones." Arrangement Short stories are in alphabetical order by title; articles are not.
Articles      Box Folder Textual materials   10 15-22     Box Folder Textual materials   11 1-9     Box Folder Textual materials   16 7
			Box	Folder
Untitled Article - Manuscript			11	10
"About Robert Nathan"			11	11
"The Hands of Cormac Joyce"			11	12
Playboy Article			11	13
"The Brighter Monday Catastrophe"			11	14
"Garden of Eden" Partial Manuscript			11	15
"Gift from Hungary"			11	16
["Irish Legend"] - Miscellaneous Manuscript			11	17
"Prevarication Jones" - Complete Draft			11	18
"Report on an Execution"			11	19
"Sea Legend"			11	20
Short Story of Captain Penn's Voyage (Complete)			11	21
"Time Will Tell"			11	22
"The Wine of the King of Spain's Daughter"			11	23
Untitled Short Story			11	24
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Series 7:  Lectures  Scope and Content Series contains edited typescripts of lectures, speeches, and talks given by Wibberley to various audiences.
			Box	Folder
Speeches			11	25
Lecture			11	26
Lectures			11	27
Lecture #5			11	28
Lecture			11	29
Lecture - "I Go There Quite Often"			11	30
Lecture - "On Reading to Children"			11	31
Leonard Wibberly - "The Need of Wyverns" 1968 November 16			11	32
Lectures			11	33
Speeches			11	34
Lecture #4			11	35
Lecture #3			11	36
Lecture [?] - Father Bredder			11	37
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Series 8:  Screenplays and Screen Treatments  Scope and Content Series contains edited typescripts of screenplays and screen treatments written by Wibberley, including "Take Me to Your President" and "East to the Indies." Arrangement Series is arranged in alphabetical order by title of work.
			Box	Folder
Black Jack Rides Again			11	38
East to the Indies (Treatment)			11	39
East to the Indies			11	40
Encounter Near Venus			11	41
Flint's Island - Script			11	42
Francis of Assisi			11	43
The Hands of Corman Joyce			11	44
Hypsypops Rubicunda			11	45
Island of the Angels - Partial Working Manuscript			11	46
Island of the Angels - Treatment (2 copies)			11	47
The Masterpiece			11	48
The Mouse on Wall Street			11	49
A Problem in Angels - Treatment [?]			11	50
Puss in Boots			11	51
Take Me to Your President			11	52-53
Meeting With a Great Beast			13	10
Stranger at Killknock			13	11
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Series 9:  Plays  Scope and Content Series contains edited typescripts of plays written by Wibberley, including The Heavenly Quarterback and  Black Jack Rides Again. Arrangement Series is arranged in alphabetical order by title of work.
			Box	Folder
Gift of a Star			11	54
Gift of a Star - Working Manuscript			11	55
The Heavenly Quarterback      Box Folder Textual materials   11 56     Box Folder Textual materials   12 1-2
			Box	Folder
The Heavenly Quarterback - Working Typescript			12	3
Irish Play for Ben Benjamin (Treatment)			12	4
The Laundry Room (Complete Rough Draft)			12	5
The Mouse that Roared			12	6
The Mouse that Roared - Musical			12	7
Mrs. Searwood's Secret Weapon			12	8
Mrs. Searwood's Secret Weapon (Incomplete)			12	9
Once in a Garden			12	10
Portrait of Jenny (Rough Draft)			12	11
The Vicar of Wakefield			12	12
The Vicar of Wakefield - Final Typescript			13	1
The Vicar of Wakefield - Working Manuscript			13	2
1776 - 1976			13	3
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Series 10:  Poetry  Scope and Content Series contains edited typescripts of poetry and long verse written by Wibberley.
			Box	Folder
Miscellaneous Poems			13	4
"The Things People See in Christopher's Room" (Complete)			13	5
"Pilgrim Cat" (Complete)			13	6
"Gift of the Shepherd: A Christmas Legend" - Manuscript			13	7
"The Ballad of Mopey Mick"			13	8
"Meeting With a Great Beast"			13	9
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Series 11:  Sound Recordings  Scope and Content Series contains sound recordings of the score for the musical The Mouse that Roared.
			Box	Folder
The Mouse that Roared - Musical Score			13	12
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