The Modern Novel

Biography

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St Paul, Minnesota, in September, 1896. His mother’s father was well off, having done well in the grocery business. His father was less successful, working for Procter and Gamble, till he was let go. His father was related to Francis Scott Key and named his only son after the national hero. After school, where he was involved in amateur dramatics, he went to Princeton, where he wrote lyrics for the Triangle Club productions. He also dated a lot. He dropped out in 1917 to join the army. The war ended before he went to Europe. After one unhappy relationship, he met Zelda Sayre, the daughter of a judge from Montgomery, Alabama. They became engaged but when Zelda had doubts about his ability to support her, they broke it off and he returned to his parents’ house.

At his parent’s house, he wrote This Side of Paradise, which was accepted by Scribner’s and he resumed his engagement with Zelda. They were married the week after its publication. They became the symbol of the Jazz Age and spent much time in Europe, associating with many other expatriates. They lived well beyond their means and were permanently broke, particularly as his novels, while critically successful, were not generally commercially successful. He wrote many short stories, primarily to sell them to magazines, though they were published as collections. In 1930 Zelda suffered a mental breakdown, which led to her being hospitalized.

In the latter part of the 1930s, he turned to Hollywood as a source of income, like other writers, such as William Faulkner. Also, like Faulkner, he drank heavily which led to poor health. He died of a heart attack in 1940, aged 44. Zelda died seven years later, killed in a fire in a mental hospital. Both are buried in Rockville, Maryland.

Books about F. Scott Fitzgerald

Matthew J. Bruccoli: Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Arthur Mizener: The Far Side of Paradise

Other links

F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary Home Page
Featured Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald – An Annotated Bibliography
F. Scott Fitzgerald and the American Dream/Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald Artist, Writer, Dancer and Wife
Books owned by F Scott Fitzgerald
Authors on Fitzgerald
The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society
Holds ‘Flappers’ Fail as Parents (Fitzgerald and his 12 year old daughter, Scottie, on parenting)
Zelda Fitzgerald