Selected Correspondence From The Horton Foote Collection, 1912-1991

Abstract

This dissertation includes a discussion of archival research and editorial procedures employed in the study, introductory essays on the private correspondence of the family of Horton Foote, and transcriptions of one hundred letters selected from the personal correspondence in the Horton Foote Collection reposited in the DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, with extensive annotations and ancillary materials. In the first chapter, I explain the archival research procedures and editorial methods employed in the study. I also provide physical descriptions of the archived correspondence and present an overview of the contents of the letters, examining many of the varied topics discussed in the Foote family correspondence. The chapters that follow include annotated transcriptions of correspondence selected from the Foote papers with introductory essays, in eight sections, each covering a period of time during Horton Foote's parents' lives and Foote's own life and career: his parents' courtship, Horton Foote as a young actor and playwright, Foote's engagement to Lillian, their early marriage, Foote as a young artist with a growing family, and Horton Foote as an artist, son, husband, and father. The eighth chapter includes letters Foote wrote to actors, directors, and writers in response to their letters to him. In the final chapter, concluding statements include suggestions for further research related to the Foote family correspondence and Foote's dramatic works.