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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 44.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 11800 items) |
| Abstract | Jonathan Yardley (1939- ), Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic, columnist, and author, was born in Pittsburgh, Pa.; spent his childhood in Chatham, Va., where his father was headmaster of Chatham Hall, a girls' boarding school; and graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1961. After graduation, he interned at the New York Times as assistant to James Reston. From 1964 to 1974, Yardley worked as an editorial writer and book reviewer at the Greensboro, N.C., News and Record; he was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, 1968-1969. From 1974 to 1978, he was the book editor of the Miami Herald, then book critic at the Washington Star, 1978-1981, winning a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism in 1981. In 1981, Yardley became book critic and columnist at the Washington Post. The collection consists of subject files, clippings, book production materials, family materials, and other items. Subject files relate to Yardley's career as a book critic, columnist, and author. Included is personal and professional correspondence with authors and others, among them Roger Angell, William Bennett, Doris Betts, Laurie Colwin, Robert Creamer, his agent Liz Darhansoff, Robb Dew, Fred Exley, Lynn Freed, Ellen Gilchrist, Gail Godwin, Don Graham, Paul Hemphill, Alfred Knopf, George McGovern, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, James Reston, Anne Tyler, Peter Taylor, Paul Theroux, and Ed Yoder. There is also correspondence regarding the publication of his books, articles, and his appointment on Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award committees and with members of his family. Subject files also include materials relating to books and projects that Yardley never completed, such as biographies of Stephen Crane and H. L. Mencken; materials relating to articles, reviews, and columns published in magazines and newspapers; materials relating to his childhood and school years through college; and materials relating to Yardley's family and heritage, including his father's work at Chatham Hall. Clippings include columns and reviews written by Yardley during his tenure at the Washington Post and other newspapers. Book production materials relate to Ring, Our Kind of People, Out of Step: Notes from a Purple Decade, and States of Mind: A Personal Journey Through the Mid-Atlantic. Family materials include items relating to Yardley's parents, William Woolsey Yardley and Helen Ingersoll Gregory Yardley; family letters; memoirs; genealogical materials relating to the Yardley, Woolsey, Hart, Thorne, Gregory, and Ingersoll families; financial and legal documents; a diary; and carte de visite albums, photograph albums, and other images. |
| Creator | Yardley, Jonathan. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
Jonathan Yardley, Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic, columnist, and author, was born 27 October 1939 in Pittsburgh, Pa., to William Woolsey Yardley and Helen Ingersoll Gregory Yardley. The bulk of his childhood was spent in Chatham, Va., where his father was the headmaster of Chatham Hall, a girls' boarding school. In 1957, Yardley graduated from the Groton School in Groton, Mass., and went on to attend the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., from which he graduated with a degree in English in 1961. While at UNC, Yardley edited the school newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel. Upon graduation, Yardley became an intern at the New York Times, where he was an assistant to James Reston.
In 1964, Yardley began his newspaper career as an editorial writer and book reviewer at the Greensboro, N.C., News and Record, where he stayed for the next ten years. From 1968 to 1969, Yardley was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. From 1974 to 1978, he was the book editor at the Miami Herald, and, from 1978 to 1981, he held the position of book critic at the Washington Star, where he won a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism in 1981. When the Star folded in 1981, Yardley became book critic and columnist at the Washington Post.
Yardley was the author of several books, including a Ring (1977), a biography of Ring Lardner; Our Kind of People (1989), a family memoir about the lives of his parents; Out of Step: Notes from a Purple Decade (1991), a collection of his columns from the Washington Post; States of Mind: A Personal Journey Through the Mid-Atlantic (1993); Misfit, a biography of Fred Exley; and Monday Morning Quarterback (1998). His book reviews and articles appeared in the New Republic, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, Esquire, Saturday Review, the New York Times Magazine, and other publications.
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Scope and Content
The collection consists of subject files, clippings, book production materials, and family materials relating to book critic, columnist, and author Jonathan Yardley. Subject files relate to Yardley's career as a book critic, columnist, and author. Included is personal and professional correspondence with authors and others, among them Roger Angell, William Bennett, Doris Betts, Laurie Colwin, Robert Creamer, his agent Liz Darhansoff, Robb Dew, Fred Exley, Lynn Freed, Ellen Gilchrist, Gail Godwin, Don Graham, Paul Hemphill, Alfred Knopf, George McGovern, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, James Reston, Anne Tyler, Peter Taylor, Paul Theroux, and Ed Yoder. There is also correspondence regarding the publication of his books, articles, and his appointment on Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award committees and with members of his family. Subject files also include materials relating to books and projects that Yardley never completed, such as biographies of Stephen Crane and H. L. Mencken; materials relating to articles, reviews, and columns published in magazines and newspapers; materials relating to his childhood and school years through college; and materials relating to Yardley's family and heritage, including his father's work at the Chatham Hall girls' school in Chatham, Va. Clippings include columns and reviews written by Yardley during his tenure at the Washington Post and other newspapers. Book production materials relate to Ring, Our Kind of People, Out of Step: Notes from a Purple Decade, and States of Mind: A Personal Journey Through the Mid-Atlantic. Family materials include items relating to Yardley's parents, William Woolsey Yardley and Helen Ingersoll Gregory Yardley; family letters; memoirs; genealogical materials relating to the Yardley, Woolsey, Hart, Thorne, Gregory, and Ingersoll families; financial and legal documents; a diary; and carte de visite albums, photograph albums, and other images.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Subject Files, 1911-2006 and undated.
Three runs of subject files created by Yardley. See the descriptions below for the general contents of each run. Note that, for the most part, original order and folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 1.1. Subject Files 1, 1965-2006 and undated.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Subject files containing both professional and personal materials. The bulk of the materials consists of correspondence with authors whose books Yardley reviewed or with whom he was friendly, with other people, about the publication of his books and articles, about his appointment on Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award committees, and with members of his family.
Notable correspondents include: Roger Angell, William Bennett, Doris Betts, Laurie Colwin, Robert Creamer, his agent Liz Darhansoff, Robb Dew, Fred Exley, Lynn Freed, Ellen Gilchrist, Gail Godwin, Don Graham, Paul Hemphill, Alfred Knopf, George McGovern, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, James Reston, Anne Tyler, Peter Taylor, Paul Theroux, and Ed Yoder.
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Subseries 1.2. Subject Files 2, 1939-2002 and undated.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Other subject files consist of materials relating to books and projects which Yardley undertook but never completed, such as biographies of Stephen Crane and H. L. Mencken; materials relating to articles, reviews, and columns published in various magazines and newspapers; and materials relating to his childhood and school years through college, including report cards, manuscripts, two scrapbooks compiled by Yardley while he attended Woodberry Forest, and an audiotape entitled "Squibs, '57." Other materials in the subseries include manuscripts, information regarding the Nieman Foundation, and a list of books owned by Yardley (folder 189).
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Subseries 1.3. Subject Files 3, 1911-1988 and undated.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Materials chiefly relating to Yardley's family and heritage, predominantly about the lives of his parents. These materials were most likely compiled as a result of Yardley's efforts to gather information for his book, Our Kind of People. ncluded are family papers, financial documents, and partial transcripts of interviews Yardley conducted with family members and friends on subjects relating to his father, William Woolsey Yardley, regarding aspects of his life as a father and husband and as headmaster of Chatham Hall, and to his mother, Helen Ingersoll Gregory Yardley, regarding aspects of her life as a wife and mother.
See Series 3.2 for other materials relating to Our Kind of People and Series 4 for other family materials.
Folder titles were retained whenever possible. Folders relating to Yardley's family members are filed by first name.
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Series 2. Newspaper Columns and Reviews, 1966-2006 and undated.
Arrangement: by newspaper.
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Subseries 2.1. Washington Post, 1972-2006 and undated.
Arrangement: by type of article, then chronological.
Clippings of reviews and columns written by Yardley during his tenure at the Washington Post. Most articles were published in the "Book World" section. Other clippings include "Second Readings" and reprints of articles.
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Subseries 2.2. Other Newspapers, 1966-1981 and undated.
Clippings of reviews, columns, and editorials written by Yardley while employed at newspapers other than the Washington Post.
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Series 3. Book Materials, 1975-1993.
Arrangement: chronological by book.
Materials relating to the production of several of Yardley's books, including drafts, galleys, and research materials.
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Subseries 3.1. Ring, 1975-1977 and undated.
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Subseries 3.1.1. Book Production Materials, 1975-1977.
| Folder 447-450 |
Draft #05278, Subseries: "3.1.1. Book Production Materials, 1975-1977." Folder 447-450Folder 447Folder 448Folder 449Folder 450 |
| Folder 451-454 |
Draft #05278, Subseries: "3.1.1. Book Production Materials, 1975-1977." Folder 451-454Folder 451Folder 452Folder 453Folder 454 |
| Folder 455-460 |
Draft #05278, Subseries: "3.1.1. Book Production Materials, 1975-1977." Folder 455-460Folder 455Folder 456Folder 457Folder 458Folder 459Folder 460 |
| Folder 461-465 |
Setting Copy #05278, Subseries: "3.1.1. Book Production Materials, 1975-1977." Folder 461-465Folder 461Folder 462Folder 463Folder 464Folder 465 |
| Folder 466 |
Illustrations #05278, Subseries: "3.1.1. Book Production Materials, 1975-1977." Folder 466 |
| Folder 467 |
Galley #05278, Subseries: "3.1.1. Book Production Materials, 1975-1977." Folder 467 |
| Folder 468-469 |
Other Materials #05278, Subseries: "3.1.1. Book Production Materials, 1975-1977." Folder 468-469Folder 468Folder 469 |
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Subseries 3.1.2. Research Files, 1975-1977 and undated.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Research files relating to the writing of Ring. For the most part, original order and folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 3.1.3. Reviews, 1977.
| Folder 534-542 |
Reviews #05278, Subseries: "3.1.3. Reviews, 1977." Folder 534-542Folder 534Folder 535Folder 536Folder 537Folder 538Folder 539Folder 540Folder 541Folder 542 |
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Subseries 3.2. Our Kind of People, 1989.
See Series 1.3 for other materials relating to Our Kind of People and Series 4 for other family materials.
| Folder 543-546 |
Draft #05278, Subseries: "3.2. Our Kind of People, 1989." Folder 543-546Folder 543Folder 544Folder 545Folder 546 |
| Folder 547-550 |
Draft #05278, Subseries: "3.2. Our Kind of People, 1989." Folder 547-550Folder 547Folder 548Folder 549Folder 550 |
| Folder 551-555 |
Draft #05278, Subseries: "3.2. Our Kind of People, 1989." Folder 551-555Folder 551Folder 552Folder 553Folder 554Folder 555 |
| Folder 556-559 |
Draft #05278, Subseries: "3.2. Our Kind of People, 1989." Folder 556-559Folder 556Folder 557Folder 558Folder 559 |
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Subseries 3.3. Out of Step, 1991.
| Folder 560-564 |
Galley #05278, Subseries: "3.3. Out of Step, 1991." Folder 560-564Folder 560Folder 561Folder 562Folder 563Folder 564 |
| Folder 565-568 |
Master Set #05278, Subseries: "3.3. Out of Step, 1991." Folder 565-568Folder 565Folder 566Folder 567Folder 568 |
| Folder 569-572 |
Master Set #05278, Subseries: "3.3. Out of Step, 1991." Folder 569-572Folder 569Folder 570Folder 571Folder 572 |
| Folder 573-577 |
Setting Copy #05278, Subseries: "3.3. Out of Step, 1991." Folder 573-577Folder 573Folder 574Folder 575Folder 576Folder 577 |
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Subseries 3.4. States of Mind, 1993.
| Folder 578-580 |
Galley #05278, Subseries: "3.4. States of Mind, 1993." Folder 578-580Folder 578Folder 579Folder 580 |
| Folder 581-583 |
Master Set #05278, Subseries: "3.4. States of Mind, 1993." Folder 581-583Folder 581Folder 582Folder 583 |
| Folder 584-586 |
Master Set #05278, Subseries: "3.4. States of Mind, 1993." Folder 584-586Folder 584Folder 585Folder 586 |
| Folder 587-590 |
Setting Copy #05278, Subseries: "3.4. States of Mind, 1993." Folder 587-590Folder 587Folder 588Folder 589Folder 590 |
| Folder 591-595 |
Galley #05278, Subseries: "3.4. States of Mind, 1993." Folder 591-595Folder 591Folder 592Folder 593Folder 594Folder 595 |
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Series 4. Family Materials, 1792-1988.
Arrangement: by type of material.
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Subseries 4.1. William Woolsey Yardley and Helen Ingersoll Gregory Yardley Materials, 1932-1988 and undated.
Materials relating to the lives of Yardley's parents, William Woolsey Yardley and Helen Ingersoll Gregory Yardley, including letters; financial and legal documents; materials relating to their hobbies; and materials relating to William Woolsey Yardley's career as headmaster of Chatham Hall, a boarding school for girls, and as an Episcopalian minister.
| Folder 596-608 |
William Woolsey Yardley and Helen Ingersoll Gregory Yardley Materials #05278, Subseries: "4.1. William Woolsey Yardley and Helen Ingersoll Gregory Yardley Materials, 1932-1988 and undated." Folder 596-608Folder 596Folder 597Folder 598Folder 599Folder 600Folder 601Folder 602Folder 603Folder 604Folder 605Folder 606Folder 607Folder 608 |
| Folder 608a |
"Letters to the Yardleys" #05278, Subseries: "4.1. William Woolsey Yardley and Helen Ingersoll Gregory Yardley Materials, 1932-1988 and undated." Folder 608aEmbossed box of letters written by students at Chatham Hall on the occasion of William Woolsey Yardley's retirement as headmaster. |
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Subseries 4.2. Letters to Jonathan Yardley and Susan Hart Yardley, 1976-1982 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters written by friends and family to Jonathan Yardley and Susan Hart Yardley, both as a couple and as individuals.
| Folder 609-623 |
Letters to Jonathan Yardley and Susan Hart Yardley #05278, Subseries: "4.2. Letters to Jonathan Yardley and Susan Hart Yardley, 1976-1982 and undated." Folder 609-623Folder 609Folder 610Folder 611Folder 612Folder 613Folder 614Folder 615Folder 616Folder 617Folder 618Folder 619Folder 620Folder 621Folder 622Folder 623 |
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Subseries 4.3. Other Family Materials, 1792-1973 and undated.
Other family materials consist of memoirs; genealogical materials relating to the Yardley, Woolsey, Hart, Thorne, Gregory, and Ingersoll families; financial and legal documents; family letters; a diary written by Theodora Woolsey in 1874 and diary pages from "Elly's Diary", 1879 (folder 631); three carte de visite albums belonging to Ella Yardley and two photograph albums belonging to William H. Thorne; and other materials.
See Series 1.3 and 3.2 for other family materials relating to Our Kind of People.
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Series 5. Pictures, 1861-1985 and undated.
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Items Separated
Processed by: Margaret Dickson, August 2006
Encoded by: Margaret Dickson, August 2006
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