Charles James Lever papers

The collection consists of 332 items covering 1835 to 1918; it includes one manuscript by Lever, an untitled political essay, a small number of Lever family letters, as well as a few letters dealing with Lever's political and civil service careers. The majority of the letters are from Lever to his wife, Kate Lever, and his oldest daughter, Julia Lever Nevill. Of these, Lever's letters written during his visits to London and Dublin are of the most interest as he tells of meeting Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, and Wilkie Collins; he also discusses his latest literary work and his dealings with his publishers. The family letters are principally concerned with the ill-health of Kate Lever, the state of the family's finances (usually bad) and living arrangements. Also, before the death of his son Charles in 1863, the family letters deal with the debts incurred by "Charley," his disreputable living and Lever's search for some sort of gainful employment for Charley. There is also one folder of ephemera containing clipped signatures, miscellaneous envelopes, clipped catalogue descriptions, cancelled checks, and a printed death notice; and one box containing five small notebooks and one post book, which include some personal information, literary notes, newspaper clippings of book reviews, and lists of letters sent.