Nicholas Hagger’s Archive of Works at The University of Essex

This includes the manuscripts and drafts of all his works and his correspondence with other writers. It is held at The University of Essex (The Albert Sloman Library).

Nicholas Hagger  studied English Literature at Oxford under Christopher Ricks, discussed his first poetic epic with Ezra Pound and received letters from Ted Hughes. Kathleen Raine and David Gascoyne spoke at the launch of his first book of poems, Asa Briggs spoke on his first history book and he led a dozen Universalist philosophers at regular meetings in the early 1990s. He has tried to reflect the Age in his work. He anticipated the fall of Soviet Communism and the rise of a European superstate with its own legal personality. Lady Astor, chatelaine of Cliveden at the time of the Profumo Affair, said of his work, “He is two decades ahead of his time.”

All this is reflected in the archive. The Archive of Works consists of manuscripts and papers relating to Nicholas Hagger’s published works and works awaiting publication. The University of Essex (The Albert Sloman Library) has taken delivery of the first two tranches of this archive on permanent deposit as a Special Collection. The 97-page catalogue of 56 boxes can be viewed at http://libwww.essex.ac.uk/Archives/Nicholas_Hagger/Hagger.html. It has a searchable option and 139 scans of sample manuscript pages can be viewed.

The Archive of Works will be updated as new books appear and will be followed by a further tranche consisting of unpublished papers and papers relating to Nicholas Hagger’s personal/biographical life (e.g. letters) as further publishing projects, such as his published Selected Letters, are completed. All computer material (versions of books/email correspondence) and CDs will follow in a further tranche at a future date.

Nicholas Hagger