Title: Louis Kronenberger Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1920-1962

Creator:

• Kronenberger, Louis, 1904-

Call Number: U.S. Mss 30AN

Quantity: 1.6 c.f. (4 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of an author, drama critic, and theatrical educator, containing typescripts of plays; drafts of books including The Thread of Laughter (1952) which pertains to dramatic criticism; several novels; drafts of poems, essays, and articles; speeches; and lecture material.

Note:

There is a restriction on use of this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0030an

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Louis Kronenberger was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 9, 1904. He spent all of his early years there, graduating from Hughes High School in 1921 and attending the University of Cincinnati for the next three years. Even as a boy his attention was directed toward two endeavors that would later occupy him professionally: writing, and the theater. At nine years of age Kronenberger put out a newsmagazine he called The Demonstrating Weekly, by thirteen he was writing “drawerfuls of verse,” and in high school he wrote poetry and stories for the school magazine. At twelve he was fortunate enough to get free tickets to all the Saturday matinees of Cincinnati's leading theater and so, either for free or as an usher, he saw many plays in the next several years.

As a college sophomore Kronenberger had his first sonnet published in a literary journal, and after his junior year he went to New York, hoping to stay and become a writer. That spring of 1924 he got a job in the accounting department of the New York Times, and shortly thereafter he began to write book reviews for that newspaper. He was also a book reviewer for Saturday Review. In June, 1926, the young man found a summer job at the publishing company of Boni and Liveright. Being a reader for the publisher of authors like Theodore Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson and Eugene O'Neill was exciting business, and Kronenberger's “summer job” turned into an extended stay. He worked for the firm until November, 1932; financial problems exacerbated by the Depression caused the company to go bankrupt early in 1933.

His work at Boni and Liveright had been valuable experience for Kronenberger. During that time he wrote his first novel, The Grand Manner (1929). And his job with Liveright's enabled him to become an editor for Alfred A. Knopf in 1933. Kronenberger worked for Knopf and continued his own writing until 1936, when he went to work for Fortune magazine.

In 1938 the writer-editor entered upon another major phase of his career--he became the theater critic for Time magazine. He served in that capacity until 1961, and he estimated that he attended almost two thousand opening nights during that twenty-three year period. For a part of the time, 1940-1948, Kronenberger was also the drama critic for the newspaper PM.

The press of Kronenberger's double job allowed him to write only one book, Kings and Desperate Men (1941), between 1938 and 1948. After he resigned from PM he was able to devote more time to writing, and thereafter appeared The Thread of Laughter (1952), Company Manners (1954), The Republic of Letters (1955), Marlborough's Duchess (1958), and A Month of Sundays (1961). He also edited numerous books, notably a portion of the Burns Mantle series of best plays.

Concurrently with writing and play-reviewing, Kronenberger was also a teacher. Since the early 1940's he has been a faculty member or guest lecturer at several universities, including Columbia, Brandeis and Harvard. In 1953 he became a professor of theatre arts at Brandeis University, and in 1963 he was named Librarian of the University. At that time he and his wife moved to Boston.

But Kronenberger's first love is writing, which he continued to do throughout and after his stint as Librarian at Brandeis. The Cart and the Horse (1964) and The Polished Surface (1969) were followed by his memoirs, No Whippings, No Gold Watches: The Saga of a Writer and His Jobs (1970).

Mr. Kronenberger and his wife, the former Emmy L. Plaut, live in Boston.

The Louis Kronenberger Papers, 1920-1963, are arranged chronologically and contain drafts of some of his writing. The most complete material is for the novel Marlborough's Duchess, but there are also drafts of poems, plays, essays, articles, speeches, lecture material, introductions to books, and notebooks. Most of the drafts are annotated, and the development of a particular piece can be studied.

Use Restrictions

Literary rights, quoting, and photocopying are restricted. Use “is limited to the physical material (as distinct from the property or rights therein) and does not include any rights of any kind or nature therein under Copyright or under common law or any other rights now or hereafter known.” “The collection is to be made available for research purposes; that is, a scholar may quote portions of the material for comment or criticism. The scholar may also make single photocopies of portions of material for research use. Permission must be obtained from the donor, however, whenever material quoted from the collection is to appear in printed editions such as books, magazines, etc.”

Acquisition Information

Presented by Louis Kronenberger, Waltham, Massachusetts, 1962-1963. Accession Number: MCHC62-052, MCHC63-081

Processing Information

Processed by Lindsay Nauen, March 1973.

Box   1 Folder   1	Early Poems, 1920-1924
Box   1 Folder   2	Articles, 1938-1962, n.d.
Box   1 Folder   3	Personal Papers, 1945-1949, n.d.
Box   1 Folder   4	The International Set (play), draft, c. 1950
Box   1 Folder   5	Grand Right and Left (novel), printer's mss., c. 1952
Box   1 Folder   6-7	The Thread of Laughter (drama criticism), book and lecture material
	Marlborough's Duchess (novel)
Box   2 Folder   1	Early work , c. 1958
Box   2 Folder   2	First draft , c. 1958
Box   2 Folder   3	Second draft (Chapter 1-9), c. 1958
Box   2 Folder   4	Second draft (Chapter 10-end), c. 1958
Box   2 Folder   5	Printer's mss., pp. 1-175, c. 1958
Box   3 Folder   1	Printer's mss., pp. 176-end, c. 1958
Box   3 Folder   2	Proof, c. 1958
	A Month of Sundays (novel)
Box   3 Folder   3	Mss. carbon , c. 1961
Box   3 Folder   4	Printer's mss. , c. 1961
Box   3 Folder   5	Reflections in Middle Age, drafts 1962 September
Box   4 Folder   1	“The Writer at Large” (essay), draft, 1963
Box   4 Folder   2	Stark Young eulogy, draft, 1963 February 18
Box   4 Folder   3	Essay, drafts, n.d.
Box   4 Folder   4	Introductions to books edited, n.d.
Box   4 Folder   5	Lectures, miscellaneous, n.d.
Box   4 Folder   6	Notebooks, n.d.
Box   4 Folder   7	Doors Must Be Open or Shut, play translation, n.d.
Box   4 Folder   8	Untitled play, draft, n.d.
Box   4 Folder   9	Writings, miscellaneous, complete, n.d.
Box   4 Folder   10	Writings, miscellaneous draft pages, n.d.