urn:taro:utexas.hrc.00393 Alan Furst: A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center Finding aid created by Liz Murray Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, 2005 Finding aid encoded by Hope Donovan Rider, March 2007 Finding aid written in English. Collection Summary Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin Furst, Alan Alan Furst Papers 1961-2005 31 boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder, 1 galley folder (14.62 linear feet), and 1 electronic file (2.5 MB) The papers of American writer Alan Furst contain drafts of his novels and non-fiction works, as well as articles, book reviews, essays, poems, screenplays, and stories. Correspondence and career-related material are also included. English. None Index Terms People Fields, Debbi. Document Types Contracts. Digital images. Electronic documents. Galley proofs. Typescripts. Scope and Contents

The papers of American writer Alan Furst contain drafts of his novels and non-fiction, as well as articles, book reviews, essays, poems, screenplays, and stories. Literary and personal correspondence as well as career-related material is also included. The papers are organized into three series: I. Works, 1963-2004; II. Correspondence, 1963-2005; and III. Career-Related Material.

The Works series is subdivided into Subseries A. Books, and Subseries B. Other Writings. Book titles are arranged alphabetically and include the novels Blood of Victory (2002), The Caribbean Account (1981), Dark Star (1991), Dark Voyage (2004), Heart of the Raining Queen (serialized, 1977), Kingdom of Shadows (2001), Night Soldiers (1988), The Paris Drop (1980), The Polish Officer (1995), Red Gold (1999), Shadow Trade (1983), The World at Night (1996) including 1997 screenplay, and Your Day in the Barrel (1976). Also present is material for The Book of Spies (2002), an anthology of literary espionage edited by Furst, and drafts of One Smart Cookie (1987), written with Debbi Fields, founder of the cookie and baked goods chain Mrs. Field's Cookies. All drafts are typed, rather than handwritten or computer-generated. Revised sections are often typed and taped on top of the original typescript. In addition, the drafts contain many handwritten changes. Frequently present are notes and research material, a succession of drafts, copy-edited typescripts, setting copies, proofs, dust jackets, publicity (including posters for Dark Star and Red Gold), and reviews. A small amount of editorial correspondence is available for a number of the novels.

Subseries B. Other Writings includes early typescripts such as a graduate school paper on Sir George Savile, a fragment from an untitled first novel, and poems. Also present are newspaper and magazine articles, numerous book reviews, essays, screenplays, and stories. Furst 's articles on a variety of topics appeared in popular magazines and newspapers including Architectural Digest, Elle, Esquire, 50 Plus, International Herald Tribune, Islands, New Choices, New York, The New York Times, Pursuits, Salon, and Seattle Weekly. The articles are arranged by year of publication and frequently include typescript drafts and tearsheets. Of note is the April 1984 Esquire article, The Danube Blues, which sparked Furst's interest in writing espionage novels. Numerous slides of his 1983 Danube trip are also available. Unproduced screenplays include Heros of the Last War (1984), and Warsaw (1992). Stories and essays vary in title and topic, such as A Crisis in Our Lives, for the 1961/1962 Oberlin Yeoman,   East Coast Time,  A New York Story,  Schmuck Economics and Things in the Woods.

The correspondence in Series II, primarily incoming letters, is arranged in chronological order from 1963-2005, the bulk between 2001-2005. Correspondents include academics, agents, booksellers, literary associations, publishers, and readers worldwide. The small amount of personal correspondence from friends and acquaintances is virtually all related to Furst's books, with the exception of a 1963 letter from Furst's grandfather Max Stockman in which his grandson is urged to be a teacher and write as a sideline in his spare time.

Series III. Career-Related Material includes articles about Furst, book catalogs and festival fliers, contracts and royalty statements, interviews and publicity photographs.

Acquisition:

Purchase, 2005 (Reg. no. 15374)

 Access:

Open for research. To request access to electronic files, please email Reference.

 Restrictions on Use:

Certain restrictions apply to the use of electronic files. Researchers must agree to the Materials Use Policy for Electronic Files before accessing them. Original computer disks and forensic disk images are restricted. Copying electronic files, including screenshots and printouts, is not permitted.

 Processed by:

Hope Donovan Rider and Liz Murray, 2005

Born digital materials processed, arranged, and described by Chance Adams and Brenna Edwards, 2015-2022.

Books, books on tape, and personal effects received with this collection were transferred to appropriate departments within the Ransom Center.

 Alan Furst Papers--Folder List Series I. Works, 1963-2004 Subseries A. Books Blood of Victory (2002) 1 1 Notes and proposal; early title The Fools of Time 1 2-5 Research material 1 6-9 First draft, fragments, rough order 2 1-2 First draft, fragments, cont'd 2 3 Draft fragment, pp. 1-47 Final first draft 2 4-6 Original typescript 2 7 Photocopy 3 1 Photocopy, cont'd 3 2-3 Final draft 3 4-5 Copy edited typescript, 4/7/2002 3 6 Page proofs, incomplete; dust jacket proofs 3 7 Reviews, foreign 3 8 The Book of Spies (edited by Furst, 2002), notes, introduction, contracts, correspondence, dust jackets The Caribbean Account (1981) 3 9 Isn't Life a Fountain?, early title, drafts 4 1-2 Isn't Life a Fountain?, cont'd 4 3-5 Typescript titled The Caribbean Account 4 6-7 Setting copy 5 1 Setting copy, cont'd 5 2 Reviews Dark Star (1991) 5 3-6 Notes, research, book synopsis, and chapter outlines 5 7-8 Draft 6 1-2 Draft, cont'd 6 3-5 Setting copy 6 6 Proofs, master set, first pass 7 1 Proofs, cont'd 7 2 Dust jacket copy and jacket proofs 7 3* Publicity and reviews (*poster removed to Oversize Folder) Dark Voyage (2004) 7 4 Notes 7 5-7 First draft 8 1-5 First draft, cont'd 8 6 Four intermediary drafts 9 1-7 Four intermediary drafts, cont'd 10 1 Four intermediary drafts, cont'd 0507004P_001 Map. 1 electronic file: Adobe Illustrator, May 2004 Setting copy 10 2-3 Original typescript 10 4-5 Photocopy 10 6 Correspondence, re copy-editing 10 7 Dust jackets Heart of the Raining Queen (1977) 10 8 Setting copy 11 1 Setting copy, cont'd 11 2-4* Serialization in The Weekly: Seattle's Newsmagazine, tearsheets (*oversize tearsheets removed to Box 32) Kingdom of Shadows (2001) 11 5-6 Research, notes 11 7-8 First draft, with book proposal 12 1 First draft, with book proposal, cont'd 12 2-3 Copy-edited typescript 12 4-5 Setting copy Proofs 12 6 Printer's proof 13 1 Printer's proof, cont'd 13 2-3 Master set, first pass 13 4-5 Master set, second pass 13 6-7 Reviews, with related correspondence Night Soldiers (1988) 14 1-2 Notes and research 14 3 Outline and plot summaries Drafts 14 4-5 Two uncorrected photocopies to p.109 14 6-8 Top copy, with corrections 15 1-2 Top copy, cont'd 15 3-6 Edited photocopy Author's proofs 16 1-3 First set 16 4-6 Extra set 16 7 Paperback covers, dust jacket proofs and copy 16 8 Publicity, reviews, and related correspondence One Smart Cookie (with Debbi Fields, 1987) Drafts, 1986 17 1 Debbi's copy 17 2 Master copy 17 3 Randy's copy 17 4-5 Copy-edited typescript 17 6 Correspondence re revisions The Paris Drop (1980) 17 7 Where's My Chocolate Chip Cookie?, early title, draft 18 1-3 Original manuscript 18 4 Reviews The Polish Officer (1995, 2001) 18 5 Notes and research Drafts 18 6-7 First draft pages 19 1 First draft pages, cont'd 19 2-6 Intermediary drafts 20 1 Intermediary drafts, cont'd 20 * Setting copy and photocopy (*removed to Oversize Boxes 32-33) Proofs 20 2-3 Copy-edited, 5/19/94 Trade paperback edition 20 4-5 Uncorrected, 6/28/01 20 6-7 Master set, first pass, 6/28/01 21 1-2 Master set, second pass, 7/26/01 21 3 Correspondence and publicity Red Gold (1999) 21 4 Proposal, work points 21 5 Research 21 6-8 Drafts 22 1-4 Drafts, cont'd 22 5 Revisions and notes 22 * Poster (*removed to Oversize Folder) 22 6 Reviews Shadow Trade (1983) Drafts 22 7-8 First draft, titled Doubles 23 1-2 Original manuscript 23 3-4 Proofs * Galleys (*removed to galley files) 23 5 Dust jackets 23 6 Reviews The World at Night (1996) Novel 24 1 Proposal 24 2 Research, notes 24 3-6 Draft 25 1* Publicity (*poster to removed to Oversize Folder) 25 2-3 Reviews Screenplay, with James B. Harris 25 4 First draft 25 5 Draft titled "Soldiers of the Night," 1997 26 6 Draft, 1998 Your Day in the Barrel (1976) 25 7 Final draft 25 8 Reviews and correspondence * Poster for reading at Montana Books, Seattle (*removed to Oversize Box 32) Subseries B. Other Writings 26 1 The Aphorisms of Sir George Savile, graduate school paper, 1963-1964 * Articles (*oversize removed to Box 32) 26 2 Absolut vodka ads, various dates 26 3 1976, 1981, Seattle Weekly 26 4-9 1983-1984, Esquire and Islands 27 1-3 1985-1987, Esquire, Architectural Digest, Elle 27 4-6 1988-1990, 50 Plus, International Herald Tribune, New Choices, Pursuits 27 7-9 2001-2002, New York, Salon, The New York Times 27 10-11 Book reviews 27 12 First novel fragment, spring 1963 27 13 The Last Catalogue, with Jim Peterson 27 14 Notes, typescript and handwritten fragments 27 15 Poems, ca. 1969-1970 Screenplays Heros of the Last War, screenplay 28 1 Treatment, ca. March 1984 28 2 Screenplay, second draft, October 1984, for Northwest Indies, Inc. Warsaw, screenplay 28 3 First revision, July 14, 1992 28 4 Photocopy 28 5 Stories and essays, 1961-1983, and nd Series II. Correspondence, 1963-2005 29 1 1963, letter from grandfather with photographs 29 2 1975-1986 29 3 1988-1992, Paris 29 4 1993-2000 29 5-6 2001 2002 29 7 January-March 29 8 April-June 29 9 July-September 30 1 October-December 30 2-4 2003-2005 Series III. Career-Related Material 30 5 Articles about Furst 30 6 Book catalogs and fliers 30 7 Book festivals, fliers Contracts, with related correspondence 30 8 The Caribbean Account 30 9 Dark Star 30 10 The Heart of the Raining Queen 30 11 Night Soldiers 30 12 One Smart Cookie 30 13 The Paris Drop 30 14 The Polish Officer 31 1 Red Gold 31 2 Shadow Trade 31 3 Your Day in the Barrel 31 4 Magazine articles 31 5 Other works 31 6 Interviews 31 7* Photographs, personal and publicity (*oversize contact prints, April 1, 1981, removed to Box 32) 31 8 Royalty statements and related correspondence 32-33 Oversize materials