Clement King Shorter Collection

Clement King Shorter

UCD Library Special Collections holds the collection of Clement King Shorter.

The Collection

This is a collection of late 19th and early 20th century books, mostly relating to literature. The bequest to UCD includes a manuscript copy of Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native which is held in Special Collections. Approximately 1,200 books were donated as part of the Sigerson-Shorter bequest in 1927: we are currently working to identify the books that made up this collection and make them available to researchers. 

Biographical History

Born in London, Clement King Shorter (1857–1926), was a journalist and magazine editor. After a brief stint as a civil servant in the 1880s, during which time he took evening classes at Birkbeck, Shorter pivoted to a new careers as an editor and writer, contributing to several papers before becoming the editor of the Illustrated London News and the English Illustrated Magazine in 1891. In 1900, Shorted founded a new paper, The Sphere, followed in 1901 by The Tatler. he continued to contribute to The Sphere until the year of his death, writing on a variety of literary topics. In 1896, Shorter married Dubliner Dora Mary Sigerson (1866 – 1918), a poet and journalist, who had attended the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art and was part of the literary and cultural Revivalist circles. In London, Sigerson’s nationalist sympathies grew she supported the 1916 Rising and with her husband, organised an (unsuccessful) campaign to save Roger Casement from hanging; she also designed a memorial to the events of 1916 for Glasnevin Cemetery. Two years after Sigerson’s death, Shorter remarried, but died himself only six years later.

For more information please see the (opens in a new window)Dictionary of National Biography.

Collection Highlights

• Manuscript of Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native, first serialised in Belgravia magazine (1878); 
• Letter to King Shorter from writer and poet, Emily Lawless. 

Access and Use

• The material in this collection is available by appointment to students, teaching staff, and independent researchers. We also welcome interested members of the public.
• Please contact us at (opens in a new window)special.collections@ucd.ie for further information. To book an appointment (opens in a new window)click here.

More Information

Donated to UCD in 1927 and known as the Sigerson Shorter bequest.

Allied material can be found in the Constantine Curran