From inserted cover note written by David Malouf: "Early (first?) manuscript draft of first 8 chapters of Remembering Babylon. In A5 exercise journal, 54 leaves (partly numbered) with text on rectos

Correspondence, incoming, from 1992:
1992 – 36 letters: Luci Arrighi (1); Murray Bail (3); Alison Clark (2); Nin Dutton (1); David Marr (1); Others (28).

Correspondence, incoming, from 1991:
1991 – 51 letters:
Murray Bail (2);
Alison Clark (3);
Dymphna Clark (1);
Nin Dutton (18 Apr 1991);
Nick Enright (1);
Kate Grenville (1);
Elizabeth Jolley (8 Jul 1991);
David Marr (27 Jun 1991 – ‘I’ve now seen the PW [Patrick White] book […]. I took the first copy round to show Manoly. […] Even though it was cold we had tea on the terrace and M started telling me things I wish I had in the book. He talked about meeting Patrick: that first night they went out for a meal. M said, ‘I found I could talk to him. He understood what I was saying and I understood him […]. We talked for hours. He made me happy at once, and I think I made him happy.’ I’d have given pages of my own prose to have ‘He made me happy at once…’;
Drusilla Modjeska (1);
Frank Moorhouse (6 Nov, 26 Nov 1991);
Janette Turner Hospital (15 Apr, 22 Oct 1991);
Others (35).

Correspondence, incoming, from the 1990s, undated:
1990s undated – 18 letters: Don Dunstan (1); Michael Ondaatje (1); Others (16).

Typescript draft of part I of The Great World, on green paper, handwritten emendations, white-out corrections, and cut and paste inserts (attached with sticky tape). This draft is missing most of the first page of the novel. It has the title page of the novel and a chapter title page 'Keen's Crossing' (which was not used in the published novel). The folder has been retained. It has page and word counts for each section, and calculations for typing these pages.

Typescript draft of 'The Away Game', Part III of The Great World, mostly on white paper, handwritten emendations, white-out corrections, and cut and paste inserts (attached with sticky tape). This draft of part III of the novel has the chapter title page 'The Away Game' (which was not used in the published novel). There are 13 sections in this file. Handwritten page numbers are in the top right-hand corner of most pages, numbering from 162 to 256. Original folder has been retained. On the cover it has page and word counts and page numbers for 15 sections.

Correspondence, incoming, from 1990:
1990 – 41 letters: Luciana Arrighi (1); Michael Berkeley (3); Alison Clark (4); Nick Enright (1); Elizabeth Jolley (1); Others (31).

Explanatory note from David Malouf regarding the origins of the novel, 1leaf.
Drafts of an early version of The Great World, The Great World is a later version of a book originally titled ‘The Memorialists’. This typescript and handwritten draft comprises the material from this original version which was incorporated into The Great World. Approximately 323 leaves, extensive handwritten emendations, cut and paste inserts (attached with sticky tape), most pages have handwritten numbers in top right-hand corner, page numbers are out of sequence, undated.

In The Great World Malouf enters familiar Australian territory with a story of war experience and mateship. The narrative contrasts the personalities of two men and their experiences in the Second World War, Digger Keen, the archetypal, taciturn Australian, gifted with a photographic memory, and Vic Curran, whose ambition and drive take him from poverty to the top of the business world. The Great World was first published in 1990 and won the Miles Franklin Award in 1991, the Adelaide Festival Award and two international awards, the 1991 Commonwealth Prize for fiction and the Prix Femina Etranger in France for the best foreign novel. This subseries consists of a draft early version of the novel, originally titled ‘The Memorialists’, the first handwritten draft of the novel, and a typescript draft in five parts with many handwritten corrections and additions.

Typescript draft of Part V of The Great World, mostly on green paper, handwritten emendations, white-out corrections, and cut and paste inserts (attached with sticky tape). There are 3 sections in this file. Original folder has been retained. On the cover it has page and word counts and page numbers for 3 sections.