Florida Scott-Maxwell

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

Biography Florida Pier was born in Orange Park, Florida in 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. 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.

They had four children: sons Stephen, Peter and Denis, and a daughter Hilary. The couple divorced in 1929 and she moved to London. 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).

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 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."

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.