Natalie Scott: A Magnificent Life Released
The story of Natalie Scott, New Orleans war hero, author, and adventurer, is now appearing in bookstores. In his book, Natalie Scott: A Magnificent Life (Pelican Publishing, 2008), author John W. Scott vividly documents the remarkable legacy of one of New Orleans’ most colorful and vital personalities.
Once described by author Sherwood Anderson as “the best newspaperwoman in America”, Natalie Vivian Scott (1890-1957) was widely recognized as a literary and cultural dynamo of the early twentieth century, and a celebrated writer in Mexico and the United States.
As a war zone Red Cross nurse and translator during World Wars I and II, Scott became the only American woman in WWI to be awarded the Croix de Guerre, France's medal for combat bravery. She received this medal for heroism in daring rescues of wounded soldiers during the bombings of her French evacuation hospital. Back in the war zone with the Red Cross in World War II (serving with the troops in Africa, Europe, and Asia), her field hospital was part of America’s invasion forces into Germany in 1945.
Scott was a vital figure in the talented circle of French Quarter writers who gathered there after WWI. A journalist, playwright, actress and newspaper columnist, Scott was co-founder of Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, creator of a boarding house for artists in a rundown mansion on Pirate’s Alley, owner of the Court of Two Sisters, and an integral force within the publishing of the colorful Double Dealer magazine. Her close companions in New Orleans in the 1920s included an array of soon-to-be-famous authors, actors, and painters, including Anderson, William Faulkner, and Lyle Saxon, among numerous others.
Her indomitable and charitable spirit led her to create a peasant school and medical cooperative in impoverished Taxco, Mexico, where she was credited with bringing the first physician to the area. As an anthropologist and adventurer in the 1930s, she led horseback expeditions for museums over thousands of miles into the most remote regions of Mexico's mountains and jungles. She also opened the Kitigawa House, a pension for artists and writers in Mexico where she continued her literary influence until her death in 1957.
Natalie Scott: A Magnificent Life is permeated by Scott’s letters, photos and original narratives – many found in Tulane University’s extensive archives. It is an incredible account of the passions, causes, and adventures of an unforgettable woman.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John W. Scott is a practicing attorney in his hometown of Alexandria, Louisiana. A Tulane graduate, he received his Ph.D. in history from Louisiana State University. He is an assistant professor of history at LSU at Alexandria. Scott served several terms as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He has been awarded the Louisiana Historical Association Presidential Memorial Award and the Martin Hardwick Award for Writing.
Once described by author Sherwood Anderson as “the best newspaperwoman in America”, Natalie Vivian Scott (1890-1957) was widely recognized as a literary and cultural dynamo of the early twentieth century, and a celebrated writer in Mexico and the United States.
As a war zone Red Cross nurse and translator during World Wars I and II, Scott became the only American woman in WWI to be awarded the Croix de Guerre, France's medal for combat bravery. She received this medal for heroism in daring rescues of wounded soldiers during the bombings of her French evacuation hospital. Back in the war zone with the Red Cross in World War II (serving with the troops in Africa, Europe, and Asia), her field hospital was part of America’s invasion forces into Germany in 1945.
Scott was a vital figure in the talented circle of French Quarter writers who gathered there after WWI. A journalist, playwright, actress and newspaper columnist, Scott was co-founder of Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, creator of a boarding house for artists in a rundown mansion on Pirate’s Alley, owner of the Court of Two Sisters, and an integral force within the publishing of the colorful Double Dealer magazine. Her close companions in New Orleans in the 1920s included an array of soon-to-be-famous authors, actors, and painters, including Anderson, William Faulkner, and Lyle Saxon, among numerous others.
Her indomitable and charitable spirit led her to create a peasant school and medical cooperative in impoverished Taxco, Mexico, where she was credited with bringing the first physician to the area. As an anthropologist and adventurer in the 1930s, she led horseback expeditions for museums over thousands of miles into the most remote regions of Mexico's mountains and jungles. She also opened the Kitigawa House, a pension for artists and writers in Mexico where she continued her literary influence until her death in 1957.
Natalie Scott: A Magnificent Life is permeated by Scott’s letters, photos and original narratives – many found in Tulane University’s extensive archives. It is an incredible account of the passions, causes, and adventures of an unforgettable woman.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John W. Scott is a practicing attorney in his hometown of Alexandria, Louisiana. A Tulane graduate, he received his Ph.D. in history from Louisiana State University. He is an assistant professor of history at LSU at Alexandria. Scott served several terms as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He has been awarded the Louisiana Historical Association Presidential Memorial Award and the Martin Hardwick Award for Writing.
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