British Library acquires the archive of writer and feminist thinker Eva Figes

12 October 2009

The British Library has acquired an important archive of the anti-realist, experimental novelist Eva Figes. The nine box archive comprises notebooks, letters, typescripts and proofs of Figes' novels and non-fiction.

The majority of the drafts are represented by a series of autograph notebooks, followed by several typewritten drafts, and marked up proofs. Of particular interest are the manuscript notebooks Figes uses to develop the structure of her novels, which interweave plot outlines and themes with passages of narrative and dialogue. They contain significant variant versions, preparatory notes, autobiographical fragments, and miscellaneous reflections on the process of writing and literature.

Figes was one of the foremost voices in the feminist movement of the sixties and seventies. The archive holds an extensive collection of typescripts relating to Figes' freelance journalism which offer a source of information and insight into the feminist movement on topics such as women and crime, equal pay, working mothers, divorce law and child maintenance.

Born into a German Jewish family, Eva Figes (née Unger) enjoyed a privileged upbringing in Berlin until the age of seven. In 1939, after her father was temporarily imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp, she and her parents escaped as refugees to England. Articles in the archive discuss Judaism, pre and post-war Germany and Figes' refugee childhood.

Figes was educated at Queen Mary College, University of London, and when the break-up of her marriage left her with two children to support, she found work as an editor for a publishing firm. The archive contains her book reports for Longmans which are of interest for publishing history and offer a broader context for Figes' literary background. Her first novel, Equinox, was published in 1966 and the next year she made the decision to become a full-time writer, after her novel Winter's Journey - a portrayal of the inner world of an old man dying alone, won the Guardian Fiction prize.

The correspondence in the archive between Figes and John Berger is particularly impressive and rich in research and iconic value. Three-quarters of the letters are focused on each other's literary output - Berger offering concrete suggestions at drafting stage (sometimes insisting on alternatives over the course of more than one letter), while also deeply self-reflexive about his own writing. Other letters disclose Berger mobilising his own publishing contacts to support Eva's work.

Jamie Andrews, Head of Modern Literary Manuscripts at the British Library, said:

"Eva Figes is an important writer of the late twentieth-century who championed new fictional styles that have had a lasting influence on contemporary British writing." He added, "It is fitting that the British Library's acquisition of Eva Figes' archive follows our acquisition of John Berger's archive, and that we are announcing the acquisition at our BS Johnson international conference, at which Eva will talk about her memories of Johnson on a panel alongside his biographer Jonathan Coe."

The British Library purchased the archive of Eva Figes for £20,000. This acquisition complements the British Library's existing collections of contemporary novelists' and writers' archives, and ensures that this treasure trove of research material, once catalogued, will be readily accessible to researchers through the Library's Reading Rooms at St Pancras.

For more information please contact

Julie Yau, Arts Press Officer, British Library

+44 (0)20 7412 7237 / julie.yau@bl.uk

Notes to editors

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes: books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages www.bl.uk / http://twitter.com/britishlibrary.

The British Library is a leading partner in the work of the UK Literary Heritage Group (UKLH), which is working to establish and take forward a national strategy for literary manuscripts and is campaigning for changes in the current tax laws to benefit living authors wanting to deposit their papers with UK libraries. The acquisition of the archive of Eva Figes follows the recent announcement of the British Library's securing of archives of John Berger, Graham Swift and the late Harold Pinter and Ted Hughes.