Gerard Manley Hopkins
UCD Special Collections holds the personal letters of Gerard Manley Hopkins to Alexander Mowbray Baillie.
Identity Statement
Reference code IE/ UCD/SC/L29-L71
Title
Gerard Manly Hopkins Letters.
Dates
1863-1888.
Level of Description
Fonds.
Extent
43 items.
Context
Creator
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889).
Biographical History
- Gerard Manley Hopkins was born in Essex.
- He studied classics at Balliol College, Oxford.
- While there Hopkins converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism, having been influenced by John Henry Newman.
- After graduating he became a Jesuit priest and held various teaching posts in Britain.
- In 1884 he became professor of Greek literature at University College Dublin.
- His disapproval of Irish political unrest and the strain of teaching made his time in Dublin a very dark period in his life.
- This is reflected in his later poetry, which is some of his most melancholy and also most critically acclaimed work.
- Hopkins died in Dublin in 1889 and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.
- It was not until after his death that his poetry received critical attention and that he was recognised as a leading Victorian poet.
Source of Acquisition
Donated by Vernon Brooks, 1989.
Scope and Content
Personal letters of Gerard Manley Hopkins to Alexander William Mobray Baillie, a college friend and barrister who lived in London.
Subject matter of letters includes:
- Work
- Poetry
- Literature
- Travel
- References to mutual friends and acquaintances
- Egyptian and Greek etymology
- Politics
- Catholicism
- Law
- Hobbies
- Gifts
- Social occasions
- Letters with drawings by Hopkins.
Access and Use
- The material in this collection is available by appointment to students, teaching staff, and independent researchers. We also welcome interested members of the public.
- Please contact us at (opens in a new window)special.collections@ucd.ie for further information. To book an appointment (opens in a new window)click here.
Reproduction
Photocopying of archival collections is not permitted. Photography permissions and policies vary. Please contact (opens in a new window)special.collections@ucd.ie for more details regarding the photography of this specific collection.
Language
English.
Finding Aid
n/a.
Allied Material
Publication Note
All letters are published in Abbott, C.C. (Ed.) (1956) Further Letters of Gerard Manley Hopkins, including his correspondence with Coventry Patmore, 2nd ed. London: OUP, pp. 199-294.
More Information
- Find information on Gerard Manley Hopkins in the (opens in a new window)Dictionary of Irish Biography.
- Find information on Gerard Manley Hopkins in the (opens in a new window)Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (UCD only).