Tom Sharpe Collection

In June 2013, Thomas Ridley Sharpe, better known as Tom Sharpe, passed away in Llafranc, leaving his personal papers to Dr Montserrat Verdaguer with the task of writing his biography. In September 2015, Dr Verdaguer decided to donate some 1200 books from Sharpe’s personal library as well as the original manuscripts of his literary works to the University of Girona so that they could continue to be used for teaching and research.

This personal library mainly contains works of contemporary English literature, with a large number of works by authors who influenced him, such as P. G. Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh and John Buchan, as well as his own published works and translations of them into a variety of languages.

The documentary section contains the original manuscripts of his works, with the different versions and drafts, and the scripts for the film and television adaptations of his novels, all featuring hand-written annotations by the author.

This collection will enable researchers, through original documents, to get closer to the personality and work of this British writer who specialised in the genre of humour, lived an intense life and spent the last 20 years of his life in this town on the Costa Brava.

Tom Sharpe Collection University of Girona