PCL MS 016 Jennette Letton Papers

The Jennette Letton Papers consist of approximately 0.74 cubic feet of manuscript materials. The materials were transferred by the author to the Popular Culture Library, Bowling Green State University in 1969.

The collection is open for research, but photocopying of manuscripts must comply with applicable copyright laws. Please direct any questions about the collection to the BPCL reference email. This register was compiled by Nancy White Lee, Popular Culture Library Associate II, in May 1986, and updated in August 2009 by Patricia Falk. It was updated again by Manuscripts & Outreach Archivist Steve Ammidown in October 2020.

Jennette Dowling Letton (1909-1999) was an author of gothic romances as well as plays. She was born in Boston in 1909. She married Francis Letton on October 30, 1937. They lived in New York City until Francis graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Later, they moved to Connecticut and managed a small summer theatre.

Letton's best known work is The Young Elizabeth, written with her husband. The pair converted the novel into a play which became popular in London's West End in the 1950s. It was also adapted for television.

Jennette Letton wrote several gothic romance novels on her own from the 1950s through the 1970s, and co-wrote another, The Robsart Affair (1956) with her husband.

Jenette Dowling Letton died in Saugerties, New York on September 2, 1999. 

The Jennette Letton Collection houses the literary manuscripts for five of her gothic romances and one for the play The Young Elizabeth. The play manuscript was published by Elak Books in 1952 and published again in novel form by Harper, 1953. In play form, it was also published by Samuel French, 1953, and Dramatists Play Service, 1955.

Two manuscripts, Robsart Affair and The Young Elizabeth, are co-authored with her husband, Francis Letton.