Correspondence between William Wallace and his wife Ottilie McLaren; and some general and family letters received by Wallace.
Scope and Contents
The correspondence between William Wallace and Ottilie McLaren, covers, with some small gaps, the period of their secret engagement between 1896 and 1902. Wallace was by then precariously established as a composer and professional musician, and writes extensively on musical matters, his relations with Granville Bantock and A C Mackenzie, his attitudes to Wagner, Richard Strauss, and some of his less serious British contemporaries such as German and Sullivan, and generally on the difficulties faced by young British composers. Ottilie was studying sculpture, and writes of her work in Edinburgh, and subsequently of her studies in Paris under Rodin, one of whose favourite pupils she became. The correspondence also contains much on general matters of the day, notably the Dreyfus Case and the Boer War.
Many of the earlier letters have substantial passages blocked out.
Dates
- Creation: 1880-1926, undated.
Conditions Governing Access
Normal access conditions apply.
Conditions Governing Use
Normal reproduction conditions apply, subject to any copyright restrictions.
Extent
49 Volumes
Language of Materials
Undetermined
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Bought, 1981.
Physical Description
The letters were bound by William Wallace himself in vellum in small octavo volumes.
- Title
- National Library of Scotland Catalogue of Manuscripts
- Author
- National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
- Description rules
- International Standard for Archival Description - General
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division Repository
Archives and Manuscript Division
National Library of Scotland
George IV Bridge
Edinburgh EH1 1EJ
0131 623 3700
manuscripts@nls.uk