Leonard Hobart Park Honan (1928-2014) was an American academic and author. Honan originally specialised in Victorian literature, but also became an expert on the Elizabethan era. He wrote on the lives of authors and poets, publishing biographies of writers including Robert Browning, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare.
Honan was born in Utica, New York in 1928. In 1948 he went to the University of Chicago to read English. Honan worked briefly at the Friendship Press in New York. In 1952 he married Jeannette Colin in Manhattan. During the Korean War Honan was jailed as a conscientious objector for a short time. Later under the GI bill he was allowed a grant to complete his studies wherever he liked. Honan choose to do his PhD on Browning at University College London. This was published as 'Browning's Characters' in 1961. Afterwards he returned to America but in 1968 took up a post as Lecturer at the University of Birmingham.
In 1985 Honan was appointed Professor of English and American Literature at the University of Leeds. He retired with the title Emeritus Professor in 1993. It was as a biographer that he was known primarily. His most ambitious work 'Shakespeare: A Life' was completed while he held his Chair at Leeds. Many considered it to be the foremost biography of the playwright. Honan continued to write after retiring from the University. He was working on an extensive biography of T. S. Eliot at the time of his death on 27 September 2014.
Includes manuscript and typescript correspondence particularly letters from David Lodge and Ernst Honigmann. Also contains writers' notebooks and annotated books.
Donated to Special Collections according to the wishes of Park Honan.
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Comprises letters to Park Honan from various academics, writers and critics.
This collection has not been listed in detail and access to parts of it may be restricted under the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation. If you would like to request access to any part of this collection, please contact Special Collections. Upon receipt of your request, a member of the team will discuss your requirements with you and review relevant material accordingly.
Material in this part of the collection is in copyright. Photocopies or digital images can be supplied by the Library for research or private study. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission to reproduce for any other purpose. Guidance is available for tracing copyright status and ownership.
Comprises: 1) Correspondence relating to the critical journal 'Novel: A Forum on Fiction', 2) Correspondence relating to 'The Book, The Ring and the Poet: A Biography of Robert Browning', 3) Miscellaneous letters from agents and publishers relating to 'Matthew Arnold: A Life', 4) Miscellaneous letters mainly from readers of 'Shakespeare: A Life'.
This collection has not been listed in detail and access to parts of it may be restricted under the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation. If you would like to request access to any part of this collection, please contact Special Collections. Upon receipt of your request, a member of the team will discuss your requirements with you and review relevant material accordingly.
Material in this part of the collection is in copyright. Photocopies or digital images can be supplied by the Library for research or private study. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission to reproduce for any other purpose. Guidance is available for tracing copyright status and ownership.
Comprises Honan's unpublished writing journals.
This part of the collection is unavailable under the terms of the Data Protection Act. This decision will be reviewed at the appropriate date. Please contact Special Collections if you have any questions.
Material in this part of the collection is in copyright. Photocopies or digital images can be supplied by the Library for research or private study. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission to reproduce for any other purpose. Guidance is available for tracing copyright status and ownership.
Includes correspondence between Park Honan and David Lodge from 1959-2014. Also contains correspondence between Honan and Ernst Honigmann from 1990-2011. There are some letters from Richard Hoggart dated 1968.
Access to this part of the collection is restricted under the Data Protection Act. You will need to complete a user undertaking and return it to Special Collections for review by staff before access can be granted. Reproduction
Material in this part of the collection is in copyright. Photocopies or digital images can be supplied by the Library for research or private study. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission to reproduce for any other purpose. Guidance is available for tracing copyright status and ownership.