]
]
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 Duplication Policy section for more information.
Expand/collapse
Collection Overview
| Size | 9.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 3000 items) |
| Abstract | Correspondence of Walter McGehee Hooper (1931- ) and colleagues, friends, acquaintances, and admirers of C. S. Lewis. Included are a few letters from Lewis and his brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis, to Hooper. Some of the correspondence contains anecdotal material about Lewis, but most letters relate to Hooper's role as a trustee of the Lewis estate, biographer of C. S. Lewis, and editor of posthumous editions of Lewis's work. Also included are letters to Hooper about Hooper's own career and his assignments as chaplain to Jesus and Wadham colleges. Unincorporated additions to the collection consist chiefly of correspondence with family and various states of C. S. Lewis editions that Hooper edited. |
| Creator | Hooper, Walter. |
| Language | English |
Expand/collapse
Information For Users
Expand/collapse
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.
Expand/collapse
Biographical Information
Walter Hooper was born in Reidsville, N.C., in 1931 and attended the University of North Carolina, graduating in 1954. He served in the U.S. Army for two years and reentered the university as a graduate student in education in 1957. He received a master's degree in education in 1958, and, for a time, taught school in Chapel Hill and at Christ School, Asheville, N.C.
Hooper was an instructor of English at the University of Kentucky in 1963, when he went to England and met C. S. Lewis. They became friends in the summer of 1963. After Lewis died on 22 November 1963, Hooper devoted himself to perpetuating the memory of C. S. Lewis and his work.
Hooper, who was ordained into the Anglican priesthood while residing in England, served as chaplain of two Oxford Colleges, Jesus and Wadham, and as an assistant rector of the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Oxford. Hooper became a member of the Roman Catholic Church in 1988, and he is now a Roman Catholic layman.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Scope and Content
Correspondence of Walter Hooper and colleagues, friends, acquaintances, and admirers of C. S. Lewis. Included are a few letters from Lewis and his brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis, to Hooper. Some of the correspondence contains anecdotal material about Lewis, but most letters relate to Hooper's role as a trustee of the Lewis estate, biographer with Roger Lancelyn Green of C. S. Lewis, and editor of posthumous editions of Lewis's work. There is considerable correspondence about the biography as well as about other literary works about Lewis and his writings. Many of the correspondents are literary figures themselves and others are affiliated with the colleges of Oxford University.
Also included are letters to Hooper about Hooper's own career and his assignments as chaplain to Jesus and Wadham colleges. Appended to a few letters are copies of fragments of manuscripts that were sent to Hooper for review.
There are also a few related items that are not letters. These include a typed copy of an epitaph for Helen Joy Davidman Lewis, Lewis's wife, that was dictated and corrected by Lewis, and Hooper's notes on the contents of Lewis's Oxford residence.
Unincorporated additions to the collection consist chiefly of Hooper's correspondence with family, especially his mother and sister, and various states of C. S. Lewis editions that Hooper edited.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Series Quick Links
Expand/collapse
Series 1. Correspondence Relating to C. S. Lewis, circa 1940-1980.
Correspondence of Walter Hooper and colleagues, friends, acquaintances, and admirers of C. S. Lewis. Included are a few letters from Lewis to Hooper. In addition, there are some letters from C. S. Lewis's brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis, to Hooper about matters pertaining to the Lewis estate and to the Lewis home in Headington Quarry, Oxford. Correspondence from others relates to Lewis's work and to Hooper's role as one of the trustees of the Lewis estate and editor of the posthumous editions of Lewis's writings. There is considerable correspondence with Sister Penelope, a long-time friend of Lewis, as well as from the Inklings, colleagues of Lewis who met weekly in Oxford to discuss their writings. There is also correspondence with other individuals engaged in writing about Lewis, especially James T. Como, who edited a collection essays entitled C. S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table . Other correspondence includes letters from Roger Lancelyn Green about the biography he and Hooper wrote about Lewis and about other matters relating to Lewis and his work. A few of the letters in this series have fragments of manuscripts appended to them that were sent to Hooper for review. There are also a few clippings, most of which relate to C. S. Lewis, also appended to letters. There is a great deal of correspondence about the annual C. S. Lewis party in Oxford, which Hooper sponsored, and a few letters to Hooper concerning his career as priest and Anglican English scholar. In addition, there are a few holographic letters written by Hooper to James Lobdell and several typed copies of letters Hooper wrote in his role as administrator of the Lewis estate.
Expand/collapse
Series 2. Microfilm.
Transferred from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Photographic Services, in March 1982 (Acc. 82025)
| Reel M-4236/1 |
Microfilm #04236, Series: "2. Microfilm." Reel M-4236/1 |
Expand/collapse
Unincorporated Additions of 1982-1993
Acquisitions Information: Additions of 1981-1993 (Acc. 81110, 81136, 82126, 82127, 83133, 84113, 84171, 85076, 86107, 87059, 89104, 93102, 93111, 96089)
Unincorporated additions to the collection consist chiefly of Hooper's correspondence with family, especially his mother and sister, and various states of C. S. Lewis editions that Hooper edited.
Expand/collapse
Correspondence and Writings, 1940-1981
Acquisitions Information: Additions of 1981 (Acc. 81110, 81136)
Expand/collapse
Writings, undated
Acquisitions Information: Addition of September 1982 (Acc. 82126)
Expand/collapse
Correspondence, 1954-1959, 1980-1982, and undated
Acquisitions Information: Addition of October 1982 (Acc. 82127)
Expand/collapse
Correspondence and Writings, 1967-1983
Acquisitions Information: Addition of August 1983 (Acc. 83133)
Expand/collapse
Correspondence and Writings, 1954-1956, 1982-1989, and undated
Acquisitions Information: Additions of 1984-1989 (Acc. 84113, 84171, 85076, 86107, 87059, 89104)
Expand/collapse
Correspondence, 1946-1991
Acquisitions Information: Addition of July 1993 (Acc. 93102)
Expand/collapse
Correspondence, 1949-1980s
Acquisitions Information: Addition of July 1993 (Acc. 93111)
Expand/collapse
Correspondence, 1951-1995
Acquisitions Information: Addition of June 1993 (Acc. 96089)
Expand/collapse
Items Separated
Processed by: Frances A. Weaver, January 1992 and subsequent additions
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
This inventory describes correspondence and other material reflecting Hooper's association with C. S. Lewis.
Revisions: Finding aid updated because of materials made open for research by Martin Gengenbach in June 2011; by Sara Mannheimer in November 2012; by Mary Oliva in November 2016; by Nancy Kaiser in March 2017.
Back to Top