Joyce MacIver papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-0429

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of four series: writings, personal, printed material, and photographs. The majority of the collection is writings, and the bulk of the writings are copies of, drafts, and notes for an unpublished memoir entitled HOW TO LIVE IN HELL which includes episodes describing her difficult childhood in Baltimore; her early newspaper work including interactions with H.L. Mencken at The Baltimore Sun; moving to New York City; her work as a newspaper and magazine writer including interactions with Wendall Wilkie and Judge Gary; and her battle with depression, ideas about gender and sex, involvement with psychiatry, and discovery of yoga.

Dates

Creation: 1940s-1990s

Creator

MacIver, Joyce, 1904-1999 (Person)
Scott, Georgette (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed off-site and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Contact Special Collections for more information.

This collection is open for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical Note

Georgette Scott, a novelist and playwright who wrote under the name Joyce MacIver, was born and raised in Baltimore and began her writing career at The Baltimore Sun. After moving to New York, she wrote for the International News Service and contributed articles to magazines including Esquire, Cosmopolitan, and The Saturday Evening Post. She covered the San Francisco Conference of the United Nations for Esquire and Trans-Radio News.

MacIver was best known for her novel THE FROG POND published by George Braziller in 1961, which was inspired by her experience with psychoanalysis. She was also the author of THE EXQUISITE THING (1968), MERCY (1977) and THE GLIMPSE (1984). She was co-author of a play, AMERICAN ROYALTY with Richard Haase.

Some biographical sources state that Scott (MacIver) attended the Johns Hopkins School of Journalism, but no such school exists and there is no record of her attendance at Johns Hopkins. It is possible that she might have obtained permission to audit classes, but no official record of being enrolled in a degree program exists.

MacIver died on June 15, 1999 at her home in New York.

Extent

3.91 Cubic Feet (3 record center cartons and 1 flat box (14.5 x 1.5 x 11.5 inches))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Georgette Scott (1904-1999) was a novelist and playwright who wrote under the name Joyce MacIver; she was born and raised in Baltimore and began her writing career at the Baltimore Sun. The collection consists of writings, personal materials, printed material, and photographs dating from the 1940s to the 1990s.