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Florida Scott-Maxwell

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American dramatist
Florida Scott-Maxwell
Florida Scott-Maxwell ca. 1910
by Amanda Brewster Sewell
BornFlorida Pier
(1883-09-14)14 September 1883
Orange Park, Florida
Died6 March 1979(1979-03-06) (aged 95)
Exeter, England
OccupationWriter
Spouse John Maxwell Scott-Maxwell ​ ​(m. 1910⁠–⁠1929)​ ending in divorce

Florida Pier Scott-Maxwell (14 September 1883 - 6 March 1979) was a playwright, author and psychologist.

Biography

Florida Pier was born in Orange Park, Florida on September 24, 1883, and was raised in Pittsburgh, living with her father's side of the family, who were Unitarians. She was educated at home until the age of ten. After then, she went to art school until she was 13 and then went to a drama school in New York City. Scott-Maxwell had small Broadway roles at age 16. She acted with the Edwin Mayo Theater Company. Around age 20, she first started writing and publishing short stories. Florida Pier became the first woman on the staff at the New York Evening Sun where she had a weekly column.

In 1910 she married John Maxwell Scott-Maxwell and moved to her husband's native Scotland, and lived in Baillieston House 6 miles east of Glasgow where she worked for women's suffrage and as a playwright.

They had four children: sons Stephen, Peter and Denis, and a daughter Hilary. The couple divorced in 1929 and she moved to London. Her second play, Many Women was staged at the Arts Theatre in 1932.

In 1933 she studied Jungian psychology under Carl Jung and practiced as an analytical psychologist in both England and Scotland. During World War II, she worked on her psychological practice in Edinburgh. Later, she moved to Exeter. During this time, she also worked for the BBC as a commentator. The BBC interviewed her about aging in July of 1954. She also discussed topics such as loneliness, on the "Woman's Hour." Scott-Maxwell maintained her psychological practice for around 25 years.

Her most famous book is The Measure of My Days (1968).

Scott-Maxwell died in Exeter, England on 6 March 1979.

Work

Scott-Maxwell's first play, The Flash Point (1914) was a feminist work. Later, she continued to write as a way to earn a living, creating short stories, reviews and more. Her second play, Many Women, was published in 1932.

Her first book, Towards Relationship, was published in 1939. In the Callander Advertiser and Killin Times, the reviewer is especially drawn to Scott-Maxwell's interpretation of modern women and their relationship to others and themselves.

The book, Women and Sometimes Men (1957) is a psychological book written for general consumption. A reviewer from the Wichita Falls Times wrote, "This study is written in beautiful prose and without the usual verbiage and terminology of the scientist." The book touches on themes of femininity, masculinity and the relationship of these concepts to modern life. The book also addresses difficulties women encounter while trying to continue their own sense of individuality when they are filling traditional gender roles. The San Francisco Examiner wrote that the book "contains some of the most quotable and controversial writing of the season." The Chicago Tribune wrote that "The author seeks to find some new balance between men and women."

Her play, I Said to Myself, was presented at the Mercury Theatre in 1947. The Kensington and Chelsea News described it as "a pleasant total of a comedy." The Daily Telegraph called the play "an exciting experiment in a new technique."

Scott-Maxwell's Measure of My Days (1968) was written first as a journal when the writer was in her 80s and living in a nursing home. Scott-Maxwell writes about old age with passion and curiosity in her journal. The book also contains reflections on family relationships.

Selected works

  • The Power of Ancestors (short story, 1906)
  • Musty, Dusty Mr. Cullender (short story, 1910)
  • Mrs Nolly's Real Self (short story, 1911)
  • The Flash-Point. A play in three acts. 1914
  • The Kinsmen Knew How to Die (as "Florida Pier", with Sophie Botcharsky, 1931).
  • Pray for the Princess (short story, 1931)
  • Many Women (play) 1932. Produced at the Arts Theatre, London.
  • Towards Relationship (non-fiction) 1939
  • I Said to Myself (play) 1946. Produced at the Mercury Theatre, London
  • Women and Sometimes Men (non-fiction) 1957
  • The Measure of My Days (autobiography) 1968

References

  1. ^ Berman, Harry J. (1994). Interpreting the Aging Self: Personal Journals of Later Life. New York: Springer Publishing Co. pp. 143–144. ISBN 9780826180605.
  2. "Notable Women M". Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  3. ^ Harmon, Gary (1992). McCarthy, Kevin (ed.). The Book-lovers' Guide to Florida. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-56164-012-6 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ Koster, Michael (4 April 1997). "Celebrating Age as Passionate and Intense Time". Santa Fe New Mexican. p. 81. Retrieved 5 December 2024 – via Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ Harris, Miriam Kalman (2000). "Scott-Maxwell, Florida". American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide. ISBN 1558624295 – via Internet Archive.
  6. Nelson-Becker, Holly; Gilbert, M. Carlean (2016). "Spirituality and Older Women: The Journey Home to Self". In Kilbane, Teresa; Spira, Marcia (eds.). Older Women: Current and Future Challenges of Professionals with an Aging Population. Bentham Science Publishers. pp. 175–176. ISBN 9781681083490.
  7. Maddocks, Melvin (28 August 1972). "Retirement -- Time to Grow, Or Simply Grow Old". The Columbian. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Age Can Be Absorbing". Ipswich Queensland Times. 2 July 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 10 December 2024 – via Newspaper Archive.
  9. "So Near Mystery". The Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal. 2 July 1954. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Loneliness". The Raymond Terrace Examiner and Lower Hunter and Port Stephens Advertiser. 28 April 1955. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Rose, Phyllis, ed. (1993). The Norton Book of Women's Lives. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 703. ISBN 978-0-393-03532-2 – via Internet Archive.
  12. "The Art of Living". The Callander Advertiser and Killin Times. 8 July 1939. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Allenby, Amy I. (January 1958). "Women and Sometimes Men (Book)". Journal of Analytical Psychology. 3 (1): 85–87 – via EBSCO.
  14. Franklin, Bess (8 December 1957). "Woman's Role is Complex". Wichita Falls Times. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Woman's Job No Plush One". The Commercial Appeal. 13 October 1957. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Books". The San Francisco Examiner. 22 September 1957. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Carruthers, Olive (10 November 1957). "Woman's 'New Problem'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "'I Said to Myself' By Florida Scott-Maxwell". Kensington and Chelsea News. 12 July 1947. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. Bishop, George W. (26 May 1947). "U.S. Producer's London Plans". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Southern Elders Older, Wiser, Stronger". Aging: 27. June 1985 – via Gale.
  21. Friend, Tad (20 November 2017). "Getting On". The New Yorker. Vol. 93, no. 37. p. 46. ProQuest 1968443953 – via ProQuest.
  22. Clance, Pauline Rose (1980). "Scott-Maxwell, Florida (1883-1977)". American Notes & Queries Supplement. Vol. 2: First Person Female American. pp. 347–348 – via EBSCO Connect.
  23. Shaw, Mildred Hart (16 January 1968). "Between Book Ends". The Daily Sentinel. Retrieved 2 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. Pier, Florida (1906). "The Power of Ancestors". The Century Magazine. 71: 445.
  25. Pier, Florida (1910). "Musty, Dusty Mr. Cullender". Munsey's Magazine. 42: 389.
  26. Pier, Florida (1911). "Mrs Nolly's Real Self". Harper's Magazine. Vol. 123. p. 786.
  27. British Library Catalogue #002433558
  28. British Library Catalogue #007561320
  29. Pier, Florida (1931). "Pray for the Princess". Life and Letters. 6: 50.
  30. British Library Catalogue #007571811
  31. "The Theatres". The Times. London. 26 May 1947. p. 6.
  32. British Library Catalogue #002433561
  33. "Scott-Maxwell, Florida 1883-1979" at the OCLC
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