Patricia Cornwell Collection of 19th Century Popular Culture
This collection consists of materials author Patricia Cornwell collected as part of her extensive research for her publications. The collection primarily contains notebooks, pamphlets, and newspaper articles about the history and culture of 18th and 19th-century medicine and crime. Additionally, there are primary source documents about the abolitionist movement, suffragettes, Prince Albert Victor, and other 19th-century celebrities, education, and literature.
Dates
- 1715-1976
- Majority of material found within 1818-1915
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
2.3 Linear Feet (5 boxes)
Abstract
This collection consists of materials author Patricia Cornwell collected as part of her extensive research for her publications. The collection primarily contains notebooks, pamphlets, and newspaper articles about the history and culture of 18th and 19th-century medicine and crime. Additionally, there are primary source documents about the abolitionist movement, suffragettes, Prince Albert Victor, and other 19th-century celebrities, education, and literature.
Biographical/Historical Note
Patricia Cornwell was born on June 9, 1956 to Sam and Marilyn (Zenner) Daniels, in Miami, Florida. She graduated from Davidson College in 1979 and worked for the Charlotte Observer before spending six years at the Chief Medical Examiner’s office in Virginia. After college, she was married to Charles Cornwell from 1980 to 1989, and in 2006 she married Staci Gruber.
Cornwell sold her first book, Postmortem, in 1990. It won five major book awards in a single year and launched a successful and prolific writing career. In addition to her well-known Kay Scarpetta forensic novels, her bibliography includes biographies, cookbooks, and a children’s book. She has had 29 books on the New York Times best sellers list and has won numerous awards for her writing. Cornwell is also an active philanthropist, supporting several causes within her wide-ranging interests.
Arrangement
This collection is in five boxes. The material has been arranged into six series. The first five series are topical in nature: Medicine, Crime, Abolition, Personalities, and Popular Culture. The final series, Oversize, is format-based and contains large format items that also represent these topics.
Acquisition Note
These documents were donated to Special Collections in 2012 by Patricia Cornwell, as part of the larger Patricia Cornwell Collection which also includes published material catalogued in Rare Books.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository