Notably, Fitzgerald shares a birthplace with two of his most famous fictional characters: Amory Blaine of This Side of Paradise (1920) and Nick Carraway of The Great Gatsby (1925). [397] In addition to using Fay's correspondence, Fitzgerald drew upon anecdotes that Fay had told him about his private life. [81], Fitzgerald's new fame enabled him to earn much higher rates for his short stories,[82] and Zelda resumed their engagement as Fitzgerald could now pay for her accustomed lifestyle. The Great Gatsby is the most profoundly American novel of its time; at its conclusion, Fitzgerald connects Gatsbys dream, his Platonic conception of himself, with the dream of the discoverers of America. He had not yet completed his fifth novel, The Last Tycoon. How Does Fitzgerald Present The West Egg In The Great Gatsby. . He is unconcerned about the sweating and suffering of the nether herd". [235], Estranged from Zelda, Fitzgerald attempted to reunite with his first love Ginevra King when the wealthy Chicago heiress visited Hollywood in 1938. [261] Observing few other people at the visitation, Parker murmured "the poor son of a bitch"a line from Jay Gatsby's funeral in The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald Public Domain. [125] While striving to emulate the rich, he found their privileged lifestyle morally disquieting. [67], With dreams of a lucrative career in New York City dashed, Fitzgerald could not convince Zelda that he would be able to support her, and she broke off the engagement in June 1919. [257] Watched by onlookers, he remarked in a strained voice to Graham, "I suppose people will think I'm drunk. Her daughter, Blake Hazard of the indie-pop group the Submarines, appears in some of the movies party scenes as a dancer. [179] Consequently, she pursued a relationship with him. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [96] Fitzgerald likened their juvenile behavior in New York City to two "small children in a great bright unexplored barn. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The family moved to France in 1924 where he started writing The Great Gatsby. Here are a few facts about F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wild career. Fitzgerald is famous for his depictions of the Jazz Age (the 1920s), especially in his novel The Great Gatsby. Half the time he thought of himself as the heir of his fathers tradition, which included the author of The Star-Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key, after whom he was named, and half the time as straight 1850 potato-famine Irish. As a result he had typically ambivalent American feelings about American life, which seemed to him at once vulgar and dazzlingly promising. [245] The realization that he was largely forgotten as an author further depressed him. [258] Lying flat on his back, he gasped and lapsed into unconsciousness. In a letter, Fitzgerald insisted he only became an alcoholic after college. Scott's father, Edward, was a businessman. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Edward and Mary Fitzgerald. [110] After their eviction from the Commodore Hotel in May 1920, the couple spent the summer in a cottage in Westport, Connecticut, near Long Island Sound. Through the 1930s they fought to save their life together, and, when the battle was lost, Fitzgerald said, I left my capacity for hoping on the little roads that led to Zeldas sanitarium. He did not finish his next novel, Tender Is the Night, until 1934. [259], On learning of her father's death, Scottie telephoned Graham from Vassar and asked she not attend the funeral for social propriety. [231], Fitzgerald's dire financial straits compelled him to accept a lucrative contract as a screenwriter with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1937 that necessitated his relocation to Hollywood. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. [17], After graduating from Newman in 1913, Fitzgerald enrolled at Princeton University and became one of the few Catholics in the student body. [344] He riveted the nation's attention upon the activities of their sons and daughters cavorting in the rumble seat of Bearcat roadster on a lonely road and sparked a societal debate over their perceived immorality. "[146][147], Following this incident, the Fitzgeralds relocated to Rome,[148] where he made revisions to the Gatsby manuscript throughout the winter and submitted the final version in February 1925. Scott produced four novels and four short story collections; Zelda painted and wrote one novel, Save Me the Waltz. [78] Critics such as H. L. Mencken hailed the work as the best American novel of the year,[79] and newspaper columnists described the work as the first realistic American college novel. [265] At the time of his death, the Roman Catholic Church denied the family's request that Fitzgerald, a non-practicing Catholic, be buried in the family plot in the Catholic Saint Mary's Cemetery in Rockville, Maryland. [174] In Hollywood, the Fitzgeralds attended parties where they danced the black bottom and mingled with film stars. [386], Wilson attempted to convince Fitzgerald to write about America's social problems, but Fitzgerald did not believe that fiction should be used as a political instrument. [335], Although a dazzling extemporizer, Fitzgerald's short stories were criticized for lacking both thematic coherence and quality. When director Baz Luhrmann went on The Colbert Report last week to talk about his new adaptation of The Great Gatsby, he mentioned that a very regal woman took him by the hands after the movies world premiere and told him shed come all the way from Vermont to see what hed done with her grandfathers book. [304] Having read and digested these criticisms of his debut novel, Fitzgerald sought to improve upon the form and construction of his prose in his next work and to venture into a new genre of fiction altogether. F. Scott Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota in the United States. "[398], Fitzgerald continued this practice throughout his life. Fitzgerald had to climb two flights of stairs to his apartment, while Graham lived on the ground floor. [76], Fitzgerald's debut novel appeared in bookstores on March26, 1920 and became an instant success. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 - December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. Despite a career crippled by drink and reckless self-destruction, Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is one of the great American novels, a chilling depiction of the excesses of the Lost Generation. On September 24, 1896 , Scott F. Fitzgerald was born. Born on September 24, 1896, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to a middle-class Catholic family, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was named after his distant cousin, Francis Scott Key, who wrote in 1814 the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". [116] That year, Fitzgerald released an anthology of eleven stories entitled Tales of the Jazz Age. So he never followed up. Luhrmann reached out to Lanahan about four years ago when he began work on the film. A chaplain at the Newman School admitted he convinced Fitzgerald to read Chesterton but failed to inspire him to become a "Catholic novelist.". ", Works by F. Scott Fitzgerald in eBook form, Catalog of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Personal Library, American Writers: A Journey Through History, F. Scott Fitzgerald in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=F._Scott_Fitzgerald&oldid=1141917460, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 15:02. [141] She spent afternoons swimming at the beach and evenings dancing at the casinos with him. Scribner's later reissued the book under Fitzgerald's preferred title, Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 15:02, Adaptations and portrayals of F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Jay Gatsby, Failed Intellectual: F. Scott Fitzgerald's Trope for Social Stratification", "F. Scott Fitzgerald, Lois Moran, and the Mystery of Mariposa Street", "Fitzgerald and Leacock Write Two Funny Books", "New Fitzgerald Book Proves He's Really a Writer", "Review of 'Redefining the American Dream: The Novels of Willa Cather', "The Younger Generation: Its Young Novelists", "The Real Jay Gatsby: Max von Gerlach, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the Compositional History of 'The Great Gatsby', "Short Stories From the Maturing Pen of Scott Fitzgerald", "Exile and the City: F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Lost Decade', "Fitzgerald, the Stylist, Challenges Fitzgerald, the Social Historian", "The Passing of Jay Gatsby: Class and Anti-Semitism in Fitzgerald's 1920s America", "Fitzgerald and Cather: The Great Gatsby", "The Structure Of The Outsider In The Short Fiction Of Richard Wright And F. Scott Fitzgerald", "Willa Cather's 'A Lost Lady': The Paradoxes of Change", "Mastering the Story Market: F. Scott Fitzgerald's Revision of 'The Night before Chancellorsville', "Scott Fitzgerald's Latest Novel is Heralded As His Best", "Almost a Masterpiece: Scott Fitzgerald Produces a Brilliant Successor to 'The Great Gatsby', "Why 'The Great Gatsby' is the Great American Novel", "Theatre: Study of 'The Disenchanted'; Writer on Downgrade Shown at Coronet", "Decoding Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris', "Garrison Keillor Hospitalized for Minor Stroke", "Takarazuka: Japan's Newest 'Traditional' Theater Turns 100", "F. Scott Fitzgerald Thought This Book Would Be the Best American Novel of His Time", "Tracing F. Scott Fitzgerald's Minnesota Roots", "Scott Fitzgerald and L.I. It sold well enough to warrant additional print runs reaching 50,000 copies. [171] Zelda found condoms he had purchased before any encounter occurred, and a bitter quarrel ensued, resulting in lingering jealousy. In July 1918, while he was stationed near Montgomery, Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court judge. If you want to know what America's like, you read The Great Gatsby. [76] Upon reading the telegram, an ecstatic Fitzgerald ran down the streets of St. Paul and flagged down random automobiles to share the news. The publication of The Great Gatsby prompted poet T. S. Eliot to opine that the novel was the most significant evolution in American fiction since the works of Henry James. Every weekday, thousands of . of 'Gatsby' Era", "The Great Gatsby Line That Came From Fitzgerald's Lifeand Inspired a Novel", "The Downside of Paradise: Fitzgerald's Final Days", "The Great Gatsby's Creative Destruction", "As Big as the Ritz: The Mythology of the Fitzgeralds", "How 'Gatsby' Went From A Moldering Flop To A Great American Novel", "Scott and Zelda: Fractious in life, but together in death in a Rockville cemetery plot", "Slow Fade: F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood", "An Affair of Youth: In Search of Flappers, Belles, and the First Grave of the Fitzgeralds", "F. Scott Fitzgerald's life was a study in destructive alcoholism", "Fitzgerald as Screenwriter: No Hollywood Ending", "Foreword for the interview with F. Scott Fitzgerald by Michel Mok", "Jersey Footlights: The Dark Side of Paradise", "Exploring the architecture and history of St. Paul's Summit Hill", "76 Years Later, Lost F. Scott Fitzgerald Story Sees The Light Of Day", "It's the Age of a Child Who Grows From a Man", "Review: 'Genius' Puts Max Perkins and Thomas Wolfe in a Literary Bromance", "Love Notes Drenched In Moonlight: Hints of Future Novels In Letters to Fitzgerald", "Calls to change U. of Alabama building name to honor Harper Lee instead of KKK leader", "Fans pay tribute to F Scott Fitzgerald in worldwide Facebook gathering", "F. Scott Fitzgerald and the American Dream", "Z: The Beginning of Everything review Come on Zelda, Scott, where's the passion? [340][341] In contrast to the older Lost Generation to which Fitzgerald and Hemingway belonged, the Jazz Age generation were younger Americans who had been adolescents during World War I and were largely untouched by the devastating conflict's psychological and material horrors. The pair had just one child, named Frances (or Scottie). [13] Fitzgerald attended St. Paul Academy from 1908 to 1911. It was in an English course at Sarah Lawrence College. During our lunchtime interview, she inelegantly dumped her to-go container of salad onto a plate and giggled as it spilled all over the table. F. Scott Fitzgerald moved to Maryland in 1932. In 1924, F. Scott Fitzgerald, his wife Zelda, and their toddler daughter Scottie left their home on Long Island for the South of France, hoping to find a cheaper place to live, some quietude to . [205] The novel did not sell well upon publication, with approximately 12,000 sold in the first three months,[206] but, like The Great Gatsby, the book's reputation has since grown significantly.[207]. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. See details. [240], Throughout their relationship, Graham claimed Fitzgerald felt constant guilt over Zelda's mental illness and confinement. The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, March 1-7, 3. "[140], Work on The Great Gatsby slowed while the Fitzgeralds sojourned on the French Riviera, where a marital crisis developed. Although he completed four novels and more than 150 short stories in his lifetime, he is perhaps best remembered for his third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). And she really resented it if we brought it up. "[275], Within one year after his death, Edmund Wilson completed Fitzgerald's unfinished fifth novel The Last Tycoon using the author's extensive notes,[l][277] and he included The Great Gatsby within the edition, sparking new interest and discussion among critics. "[255], Fitzgerald achieved sobriety over a year before his death, and Graham described their last year together as one of the happiest times of their relationship. "[181] Fitzgerald's relations with Moran further exacerbated the Fitzgeralds' marital difficulties and, after merely two months in Jazz Age Hollywood, the unhappy couple departed for Delaware in March 1927. [9] His parents sent him to two Catholic schools on Buffalo's West Sidefirst Holy Angels Convent (19031904) and then Nardin Academy (19051908). Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. [273] In retrospective reviews that followed after his death, literary critics such as Peter Quennell dismissed his magnum opus The Great Gatsby as merely a nostalgic period piece with "the sadness and the remote jauntiness of a Gershwin tune". This is my immediate dutywithout this I am nothing. [112] As she emerged from the anesthesia, he recorded Zelda saying, "Oh, God, goofo [sic] I'm drunk. It is the story of a psychiatrist who marries one of his patients, who, as she slowly recovers, exhausts his vitality until he is, in Fitzgeralds words, un homme puis (a man used up). [138] Initially titled Trimalchioan allusion to the Latin work Satyriconthe plot followed the rise of a parvenu who seeks wealth to win the woman he loves. [203] Its structure threw off many critics who felt Fitzgerald had not lived up to their expectations. Username and password are case sensitive. [253] Edmund Wilson and Aaron Latham suggested Hollywood sucked Fitzgerald's creativity like a vampire.
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