Junius Collection

Manuscripts and printed material relating to an edition of the Junius letters, compiled by Joseph Parkes. There are also 18 letters to and from Sir Philip Francis, 1765-1777. It is unlikely that Parkes did in fact produce an edition of the letters, however, he was Francis' biographer and wrote: Completed and edited by Herman Merivale, Memoirs of Sir Philip Francis, K.C.B: With Correspondence and Journals (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1867). The evidence of the collection, which includes letters to Mrs Joseph Parkes about the Junius material in the possession of her deceased husband, certainly implies that this material had some connection with Parkes.

Junius was the pseudonymous author of a series of political letters which were published in the Public Advertiser between January 1769 and January 1772. Other political letters, contributed to the public press under other pseudonyms, have also been traced to the same hand. The identity of Junius has never been definitely proved but Sir Philip Francis (1740-1818) is now generally thought to be the author of these letters.

Reference: The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Revised Edition (Oxford, 1995).

Access to all registered researchers

This collection was purchased in 1966-1967

Please see full catalogue for further details

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material