Fonds MsC-80 - June Skinner (Rohan O'Grady) fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

June Skinner (Rohan O'Grady) fonds

General material designation

  • Textual records
  • Photographic materials

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  • Source of title proper: Title based on contents of fonds.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

MsC-80

Edition area

Edition statement

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1936-1998 (Creation)
    Creator
    Skinner, June Margaret

Physical description area

Physical description

3 m of textual records
22 photographs

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1922-2014)

Biographical history

June Skinner (nee O’Grady) was born on July 23, 1922 in Vancouver, BC. After graduating high school in 1940, Skinner worked at the Capilano Golf and Country Club and then in the library at the Vancouver Sun. The former is where she met her husband Frederick Snowdon Skinner. They had three children together and raised them in West Vancouver.

Skinner was primarily active as an author between 1961 and 1981. She published four novels under the pen name Rohan O’Grady and one novel under the name of A. Carleon. None of Skinner’s novels were published by Canadian publishers and instead were published in New York and London. Skinner struggled to get her novels into Canada though she herself was a Canadian writer. She often wrote in her letters that she could not buy her own books in the local book stores.

Skinner’s most famous work is Let’s Kill Uncle, which was made into a horror film in 1966. Both Let’s Kill Uncle and June’s second novel, Pippin’s Journal, were illustrated by Edward Gorey. Skinner’s work was rediscovered in 2009 with an article in The Believer about Let’s Kill Uncle, and that novel was reprinted in 2011 by Bloomsbury. After 20 years of writing novels, Skinner gave up and stopped. She told her son-in-law, Keith Maillard, that is was a relief to stop and that she did not miss it at all.

In the late 1990’s Skinner began to suffer from dementia. She died on March 17, 2014 at the age of 91.

Custodial history

Records from the first accession were donated to the archives by June Skinner. The accrual was donated to the archives by Mary Maillard, June's daughter, who had custody of the records after Skinner's death.

Scope and content

Fonds consists of records relating to the writing and publication of novels written by June Skinner under the pen names of Rohan O'Grady, and A. Carleon. These include original manuscripts, notes on works in progress, memorabilia, promotional material, rejection letters, grant applications, photographs, scrapbooks, and correspondence.

The fonds has been arranged into the following series: Manuscripts (1936-[1992?]); Contracts (1960-1998); Correspondence ([1949?]-2000); Research (1965-[197-?]); Promotional material and reviews (1961-1974); Personal (1947-[196-?]); and Finance (1941-1992).

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

Arrangement of the files into series and sub-series was provided by the archivist. The first accession was processed separately from the accrual. For preservation reasons, photographs in files of textual records have been removed and are located in separate boxes. Some manuscripts were duplicates and these were weeded.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

Records from the second accession for this fonds have not been processed. Access restrictions may apply. Please contact staff for more information.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Works in this fonds are under copyright. Researchers are required to secure permission from the copyright holders for usage of this material, except for those covered by fair dealing.

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Generated finding aid

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Accruals

There was an accrual in October 2019 which has not been processed. No further accruals are expected.

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Rules for Archival Description

Status

Published

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Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Created January 7, 2016. SS
Revision November, 2019. SF : Added series and files

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