Behind the Scenes of Vinaver’s Works of Sir Thomas Malory

Abstract: The publication of Eugène Vinaver’s 1947 edition of The Works of Sir Thomas Malory marked a paradigm change in Malory Studies. The pre-publication history of this seminal edition has merited much recent academic debate. This paper introduces a new and previously unexplored archive that sheds fresh light on the tumultuous publication of the Works – the Vinaver File. Comprising 108 letters, primarily between Vinaver and Kenneth Sisam, his editor on the Works, the File represents a rich new source of primary information on Vinaver and his circle. The letters offer first insights into the lengthy debate that underpinned Vinaver’s choice of title for the Clarendon edition. This paper demonstrates that as early as 1938 Vinaver was arguing for the title The Works, rather than the traditional Morte Darthur, and consequently that his decision to treat the text as a series of narratives rather than as a ‘whole book’ had already been made nine years prior to its publication. The choice of this revolutionary title, and the implicit argument that underpinned it, instantly stimulated controversies on unity in Malory which still resonate today. The Vinaver File also sheds light on the mechanics of the editing and publication process, and on the often-uneasy relationships between Vinaver and his editor and peers. Through its explication of the lengthy and frequently ill-tempered correspondence debating the appropriate acknowledgement of the contribution made by Sir Edmund Chambers to Vinaver’s work, this paper offers a fresh perspective both on Vinaver and on the wider academic environment in which he worked. The article concludes with some suggestions about the future direction of Vinaver studies, utilising the resources to be found in the Vinaver File, the Oxford University Press Archive, and elsewhere, before offering the first listing of the hitherto understudied correspondence.