Author, Diplomat. A descendant of Virginia's prominent Page and Nelson families, he graduated from the University of Virginia Law School in 1874. He was admitted to the bar in 1876 and practiced in Richmond until 1893, when he moved to Washington, DC and began a career as a writer. Page popularized the "Plantation Tradition" of writing, which told a stylized, idealized version of Southern life before the Civil War, and his 1887 collection of short stories, "In Ole Virginia," is considered the quintessential work of the genre. Page's other fiction works include "Bred in the Bone," "Two Little Confederates," and "Red Rock." His nonfiction works, which encouraged sympathy for romanticized Southern ideals, included "Social Life in Old Virginia," "The Negro: The Southerner's Problem" and "Robert E. Lee: Man and Soldier." To obtain the support of Virginia's US Senators, President Wilson, a Virginia native, appointed Page Ambassador to Italy in 1913. He held the post until 1919, serving throughout World War I, and wrote a memoir of this experience, "Italy and the World War." He resigned because of failing health and relocated to Virginia, where he lived in retirement until his death from heart, kidney and bladder ailments.
Author, Diplomat. A descendant of Virginia's prominent Page and Nelson families, he graduated from the University of Virginia Law School in 1874. He was admitted to the bar in 1876 and practiced in Richmond until 1893, when he moved to Washington, DC and began a career as a writer. Page popularized the "Plantation Tradition" of writing, which told a stylized, idealized version of Southern life before the Civil War, and his 1887 collection of short stories, "In Ole Virginia," is considered the quintessential work of the genre. Page's other fiction works include "Bred in the Bone," "Two Little Confederates," and "Red Rock." His nonfiction works, which encouraged sympathy for romanticized Southern ideals, included "Social Life in Old Virginia," "The Negro: The Southerner's Problem" and "Robert E. Lee: Man and Soldier." To obtain the support of Virginia's US Senators, President Wilson, a Virginia native, appointed Page Ambassador to Italy in 1913. He held the post until 1919, serving throughout World War I, and wrote a memoir of this experience, "Italy and the World War." He resigned because of failing health and relocated to Virginia, where he lived in retirement until his death from heart, kidney and bladder ailments.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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