Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Victoria McManus Collection
Date(s)
- 1979 - 2022 (Creation)
Extent
15 boxes
Name of creator
Biographical history
Victoria McManus is a resident of Philadelphia, PA. She writes both fiction and nonfiction, under the names Victoria Janssen and Elspeth Potter, and includes both novels and short stories. Her first novel was the alternate-world fantasy The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover (2008), which has been translated into French, German, and Russian. Her next novel, The Moonlight Mistress (2009), features the early days of World War One and werewolves; it has been translated into Italian and has an electronic-only sequel available, “Under Her Uniform.” McManus' third novel The Duke and the Pirate Queen (2010), is a sort-of sequel to The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover, focusing on different characters. In 2021-2022, under the name of Victoria Janssen, she released A Place of Refuge, a new science fiction queer romance space opera consisting of three books: Finding Refuge, Accepting Refuge, and Embracing Refuge.
Her first published short story was "Water Music" (2000), which appeared in Best Lesbian Erotica 2001 from Cleis Press, and she has since written a number of other stories that have been anthologized in various erotica collections. Her nonfiction mostly appears at the blogs Heroes and Heartbreakers (romance) and The Criminal Element (mystery, suspense, and thrillers). She also reviews anonymously for Publishers Weekly.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection contains manuscripts and other materials relating to the literary career of science fiction, fantasy, paranormal romance, and erotica writer Victoria McManus, who writes under the names "Victoria Janssen" and "Elspeth Potter". Materials in this collection include manuscripts and drafts of McManus' published and unpublished work, correspondence, contracts and financial documentation, and convention materials.
Also included are large numbers of fanzines, particularly for the British show *Blake's 7", for which McManus wrote a number of stories.
Some of the fanzines is identified as "slash” (s) or "het" (h). "Slash" refers to fanworks that feature same-sex relationships and are sometimes (though not always) sexually explicit. In slash, sexual identity, sexuality and/or romance are often the centers of the story, rather than the conventional adventures featured in more traditional fanworks. "Het" refers to fanworks featuring sexual or romantic content, but with opposite-sex relationships. "Gen" (more standard stories containing no sexual content) and het items are identified as such on the item folder. If an item is not identified as slash or het, it is to be assumed that the item is slash..
System of arrangement
Series I: Manuscripts.
Series II: Diaries and Correspondence.
Series III: Literary Materials.
Series IV: Other Materials
Series V: Convention Materials
Series VI: Fanzines (starting with November 2022 Addendum)
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
No restrictions.
Physical access
No restrictions.
Technical access
No restrictions.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Donated by Victoria McManus.