 | Friends and Colleagues, There are archives that turn up at Black Swan Books which contain correspondence, and sometimes work product, of interesting people of whom you never heard. Such is the case with these papers of a woman who lived a lot of her life in Richmond. Mrs. Jean Scott Anderson (1881-1971) was a mid-century playwright for radio and tv who found moderate success with some of her manuscripts. It appears that she was a creative young woman who was engaged in work essentially her entire life at a time when female employment was somewhat atypical. She helped train young women in typing for their country during first World War and clerked for the US Civil Service. After marrying a Scottish immigrant named Ross Anderson, she continued to write plays for her own interest, to supplement their income during the depression, and after becoming a widow. Her writing was mostly comedic fiction, for which she continuously sought buyers, even into her elderly years. She lived for a number of years at the Stuart Court Apartment building on Monument Avenue, and ended her days in the Richmond Home for Ladies. Approximately a dozen of her radio plays are included in this archive, such as “No Date for the Wedding”, which was produced and performed for CBS in 1943. Was Jean Anderson a prominent, well-known Virginian? No. But a little diggings suggest that she was a person worth knowing. Cheers to you, and cheers to Jean Anderson. Nick | | |
