Peggy Scott

> I hope one day to write a novel. Some may think it far-fetched. My father does.
>
> Peggy, to Marian, 1.01 "Never The New"

**Peggy Scott** (portrayed by **Denée Benton**) is Agnes van Rhijn's secretary. She attended the prestigious Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, after completing her education, had a chance encounter with Marian Brook at the train station, a white woman related to the wealthy van Rhijn family, paying for her ticket after her purse was stolen. Not wishing to return home to her parents, she accepts the offer of Marian's aunt Agnes to work as her secretary.

## Character

*Peggy is a young, ambitious, writer. She was raised in New York and educated at the prestigious Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia. We meet Peggy at a crossroads. She’s haunted by her past and lingering questions that’s she unable to find answers to, so she chooses to leave Pennsylvania and return home. When she meets Marian both women are seeking a fresh start, and form an unlikely friendship as they begin this next chapter of their lives in New York. But Peggy’s secret will eventually be revealed, causing a tectonic shift in her world.*

## Biography

### Early life

Peggy is from the Scott family, a relatively wealthy and educated African-American family from Brooklyn, although her father Arthur was born into slavery. Her father was a successful pharmacist who owned his own drugstore, and Peggy fell for a stock boy who worked for her father. She was educated at the Institute for Colored Youth, where she excelled at handwriting and calligraphy.

Peggy fell in love with a man named Elias Finn, who worked for her father. Arthur did not approve of him, as he had no prospects, and was uneducated. Seeing their love as hopeless, Peggy and Elias ran away to Philadelphia, where they got married. By the time Arthur found them, Peggy was already pregnant. Peggy's father bullied Elias into signing a paper saying he had been married before, and a judge declared the marriage to be void. She gave birth to a son, and nearly died in childbirth. She was told that her son died, but in fact, he had been taken to be adopted by the Spring family in Philadelphia, and was named Thomas.

### Season 1

After trying to find the midwife that attended to her son's birth, Peggy takes the train from Doylestown in Pennsylvania back to Brooklyn. At the train station, she is approached by a white woman, Marian Brook, who lost her purse in the aftermath of a fight breaking out at the station. She offers to have her wealthy aunts pay back Peggy, and they ride to New York together in a segregated carriage, getting to know one another on the way. When they arrive, Peggy cannot get back to Brooklyn due to inclement weather, and Marian tells her to come to her aunts' house. The servants of the household are mostly uncomfortable around Peggy, but Marian's aunt, Agnes van Rhijn, agrees that she can stay for the night, and notices Peggy's talented handwriting. She reveals that she attended the Institute for Colored Youth, of which the Brook family are patrons.

The following morning, Agnes tells Peggy that she might have to stay for longer than expected, as the weather is still poor. She offers to help in any way that she can, and noticing Peggy's talent and her reluctance to return home, Agnes offers her a position as her secretary. Peggy accepts and tells her that she can get a reference from the headmaster, although Agnes insists that she must meet with her parents. She meets with her mother Dorothy in an unfamiliar location, and refuses to return home due to her past with her father. She returns to her new workplace, and helps Marian sneak out of the house to an At Home party across the road with the "new money" Russells. When Marian returns home, they discuss their ambitions, and Peggy tells her that she wants to be an author.

Beginning to settle into her new job, Peggy is treated with a little less hostility from the white servants. After hearing that Marian's father's lawyer is coming from Pennsylvania, Peggy asks if she can speak with him about a personal issue, as any colored lawyer would get back to her father. She also discovers the cook, Mrs. Bauer, attempting to steal a silver candlestick, and sees her break down in tears. Peggy, Marian, and the maid Bridget discover that Bauer is in debt from gambling, and Marian resolves to ask her relatives for financial help. Later, Peggy meets with the lawyer Tom Raikes, and seems to settle the issues she has for the time being.

### Season 2

Peggy's son, Thomas, dies along with his adoptive mother after a scarlet fever outbreak in Philadelphia. The Scotts are invited to join the Springs in grieving Thomas at Easter. Peggy grows tearful visiting the Springs, and looking at her son's room. This does not change the deep rift in the Scott family, and Peggy decides to return as the secretary in the van Rhijn household.

## Gallery

Season 1 character posterNever The NewMoney Isn't EverythingSeason 1 character imagePeggy Scott in Season 2, Episode 1
## References

1. ↑ The Gilded Age Cast & Characters • HBO OFFICIAL SITE
2. ↑ *The Gilded Age*, season 1 episode 5: "Charity Has Two Functions"
3. ↑ *The Gilded Age*, season 1 episode 8: "Tucked Up in Newport"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *The Gilded Age*, season 2 episode 1: "You Don't Even Like Opera"
5. ↑ *The Gilded Age*, season 1 episode 1: "Never The New"
6. ↑ *The Gilded Age*, season 1 episode 2: "Money Isn't Everything"