Title: Evelyn Scott/John Metcalfe Letters

Date/Date Range :   1958-1964

Extent: 0.2 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection, the Evelyn Scott/John Metcalfe Letters, 1958-1964, consists of letters from either Scott or Metcalfe to Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Lyle or to Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Trahern in Clarksville, TN. Many of the letters discuss Evelyn's health, family, and friends from Clarksville.

Call number: MS-2523

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

Collection is property of the UT Special Collections Library.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Evelyn Scott/John Metcalfe Letters, MS-2523. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of two folders.

Evelyn Scott (1893-1963) was born Elsie Dunn in Clarksville, Tennessee. In 1913, Elsie married Frederick Creighton Wellman, and they changed their names to Evelyn Scott and Cyril Kay-Scott. The couple moved to Brazil, where they had one son in 1914, Creighton "Jigg" Scott. After her divorce from Cyril in 1928, Evelyn married novelist John Metcalfe in 1930. Between 1921 and 1941, she wrote several books, including critically acclaimed The Wave and Eva Gay. Her final book The Shadow of the Hawk failed in 1941. Scott became paranoid about the intertwining of political events during the Second World War and the productivity of artists. Evelyn Scott died in 1963.

William John "Jack" Metcalfe (1891-1965), a teacher and novelist, was born in Heacham, Norfolk, England. In 1913 he graduated from the University of London and then taught in Paris. He joined the Royal Naval Division during World War I in 1914 then the Royal Naval Air Service in 1917. After the war, Metcalfe worked at Highgate Junior School in London and began writing. In 1925, his first book The Smoking Leg and Other Stories was published, and he subsequently abandoned his teaching career to write full-time. In 1928, Metcalfe emigrated to the United States. On March 17, 1930, he married the American novelist Evelyn Scott. Following his service in the British Royal Air Force during World War II, Metcalfe taught in England then returned to the United States to continue writing and teaching. After the death of his wife in August 1963, Metcalfe suffered a breakdown and was hospitalized from August 1964 through October 1964. He then returned to England, where he died on July 31, 1965.

This collection, the Evelyn Scott/John Metcalfe Letters, 1958-1964, contains letters from either Scott or Metcalfe to Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Lyle and to Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Trahern in Clarksville, TN. Many of the letters discuss children (Creighton & Paula Scott, Marjory & Joe Trahern Jr.) and friends from Clarksville. There are also mentions of Evelyn's health (she had a cerebral hemorrhage in 1961 and discovered a lung tumor in 1963, the cause of her death that same year). Most of the letters are from 1961-1963 and between the Metcalfes and Lyles.

See also Evelyn Scott Collection in MS-2015 and The Evelyn Scott Letters, 1946-1949, in MS-2300. The Peggy Bach Collection (with letters to/from the Lyles and Traherns) in MS-2047 and MS-2050.

• Authors, American -- Tennessee.
• Women authors -- Tennessee.
• Scott, Evelyn, 1893-.
• Metcalfe, William John, 1891-1965.