Guide to the Nancy Rubin Stuart Papers , 1979-2011

(bulk 1983-1997)

John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2022

Collection Overview

Title:	Nancy Rubin Stuart papers
Date range:	1979-2011, (1983-1997)
Creator:	Rubin Stuart, Nancy
Extent:	39.5 Linear Feet 38 record center boxes, 2 shoeboxes, 5 document cases, 1 flat box
Abstract:	The Nancy Rubin Stuart papers include notes, drafts, audio tapes, video scripts, correspondence, and printed materials, chiefly relating to her professional activities as a writer of non-fiction books, magazine articles, and television programs, along with a smaller quantity of personal papers. The material dates from 1979 to 2011.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	Ms.2005.025

Scope & content

The Nancy Rubin Stuart papers contain research, notes and manuscript copies of the author's book- and article-length journalism. Her topics include motherhood, marriage, family, architectural preservation, and historical biography, and among her subjects are Marjorie Merriweather Post, Queen Isabella of Spain, Mercy Otis Warren and Margaret Fox. Professional correspondence and article queries are also included in the collection.

The papers are organized into seven series that correspond to the accession chronology.

Series 1 (1982-1994) contains research, primarily photocopies and notes (Box 1, 3) plus audiotaped interviews (Box 2), manuscript drafts (Boxes 1, 3), postpublication documents and correspondence (Box 3) relating to Rubin Stuart's book The New Suburban Woman (1982). This series also contains research, primarily photocopies and notes (Boxes 8-11) plus audiotaped interviews (Box 13), manuscript drafts (Boxes 4-7), postpublication documents and correspondence (Box 12) relating to the book The Mother Mirror (1984).

Series 2 (undated) contains research and manuscript drafts relating to Isabella of Castile : The first Renaissance queen (1991). Boxes 13 to 16 contain research materials, mostly photocopied. Boxes 18 to 21 contain chapter drafts and several copies of the completed manuscript. Box 17 contains additional research and manuscript material on 5 1/2" double sided, double density floppy disks. A manuscript copy of American Empress : The Life And Times Of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1995) is also included, along with a poster advertising one of the author's speaking appearances.

Series 3 (1986-2002) contains miscellaneous published works, including a print copy of the John Hays Hammond biography (Box 23) and manuscripts of various magazine articles. Also included are television and video scripts, most of them on architectural restoration, written for the A & E and HGTV networks (Box 23).

Series 4 (1979-1988) contains the research, interviews and manuscript for the John Hays Hammond biography (Boxes 24-25; also Box 23 for the print copy). Also included in this series are research notes for American Empress : The Life And Times Of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1995); this research is primarily photocopies of primary sources and is arranged roughly in chronological order of Marjorie's life (Boxes 26-32), followed by transcripts of interviews (Boxes 33-34), publisher correspondence and photographs (Boxes 34-35). (See Box 23 for the complete manuscript of the Post biography.) The last component of the series is a collection of Rubin Stuart's professional correspondence, article queries, and manuscripts of various magazine articles (Boxes 36-39).

Series 5 (undated) contains two copies of the manuscript of The Reluctant Spiritualist: The Life of Maggie Fox (2005), one identified as "final edit" (Box 39). (See Box 46 for additional copies.)

Series 6 (1992-1997) contains an edited version of Isabella of Castile : The first Renaissance queen (1991) (Box 41), along with the original proposal and publicity. Also within this series are various draft versions of The Muse of the Revolution: the Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation (2008) (Box 42). Further research notes, interviews and legal documents pertaining to American Empress : The Life And Times Of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1995) are in boxes 42 and 43. The remainder of the series comprises notes and magazine articles, mostly on the subject of parenthood, and several folders of Rubin Stuart's miscellaneous correspondence (Box 44).

Series 7 (1983-2007) contains drafts of The Muse of the Revolution: the Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation (2008)(Box 45). It also contains correspondence and files related to the publication and publicity for The Reluctant Spiritualist: The Life of Maggie Fox (2005) and earlier publications by Stuart including her book Club Dance: the Show, the Steps, the Spirit of Country(Box 46).

Access Points

Subject Names

• Warren, Mercy Otis
• Fox, Margaret
• Hammond, John Hays
• Isabella, Queen of Spain, I
• Rubin Stuart, Nancy
• Post, Marjorie Merriweather

Subject Organizations

• Christine Dunlap Farnham Archive

Subject Topics

• Biography
• Motherhood -- History -- 20th century -- United States
• Authors, American -- Archives -- 20th century
• Language and Literature

Document Types

• Correspondence
• Contracts
• Transcripts
• Proposals
• Photographs
• Notebooks
• Interviews
• Photocopies
• Floppy disks
• Audiocassettes
• Manuscripts for publication

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in seven series:

• July 1996 Accession
• February 1998 Accession
• January 2002 Accession
• August 2004 Accession
• September 2004 Accession
• January 2009 Accession
• October 2011 Accession

Arrangement of this collection is determined by accession and reflects the acquisition of collection components over time. Researchers should note that material within individual accessions may overlap with materials in the other accessions. In order to locate all relevant material within the collection, researchers should consult each acquisition described in the Scope and Contents note.

Researchers should also note that arrangement across accessions may not be consistent, depending on the arrangement of materials at the time the collection was received by the library.

Biographical / Historical

Nancy Rubin Stuart (Brown University, M.A.T. 1967) is a writer and journalist who has published under the names Nancy Rubin and (as of 1998) Nancy Rubin Stuart. Among her titles are: The New Suburban Woman: Beyond Myth and Motherhood (1982); The Mother Mirror: How a Generation of Women Is Changing Motherhood in America (1984); John Hays Hammond, Jr.: a Renaissance Man in the Twentieth Century (1987); American Empress: the Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1995); Isabella of Castile: the First Renaissance Queen (1991); Club Dance: the Show, the Steps, the Spirit of Country (1998); and The Reluctant Spiritualist: the Life of Maggie Fox (2005).

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Restrictions apply to some personal papers: consult John Hay Library staff for details. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested. Advance notice is required to view born-digital records. Born-digital materials in this collection have not been reformatted yet. Researchers may request access to copies by contacting the John Hay Library with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. Access to original physical digital media is restricted.
Use of the materials:	Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Brown University Library. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Nancy Rubin Stuart Papers, Ms.2005.025, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The Nancy Rubin Stuart papers acquired by gift of Nancy Rubin Stuart, 1996-2011.
Accruals:	The collection received in seven accessions since 1996. Further accruals expected.
Processing information:	This collection was processed under the guidelines of the two-year Basic Processing grant awarded to Brown by the NHPRC. Materials were refoldered as needed and housed in acid free boxes to solidify the integrity of each series. The arrangement devised by dealer predominates.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Brown University LIbrary Staff.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-10-21.
Descriptive rules:	Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Sponsor:	Processing funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Additional Information

Inventory

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