F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1896. He was educated at Princeton University, and after graduating, he worked as a reporter for The Baltimore Evening Sun. Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre in 1920, and the two moved to Paris, where Fitzgerald began writing his most famous novels, including The Great Gatsby. After returning to the United States, Fitzgerald and Zelda lived in Hollywood and New York City, where Fitzgerald worked as a screenwriter. Zelda was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1930, and the couple was hospitalized separately. They divorced in 1940. Fitzgerald died of a heart attack in 1940.
Fitzgerald is considered one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. His novels are known for their insight into the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties, and his writing style has been praised for its lyrical beauty. Many of Fitzgerald’s works have been adapted into films, including The Great Gatsby, Tender Is the Night, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Fitzgerald’s life was as dramatic as his writing. He was a talented writer who achieved great success at a young age, but he also struggled with alcoholism and mental illness. Fitzgerald’s experiences during the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties provide a unique perspective on American culture during that time period. His writing is still popular today, and his novels remain a staple of high school curriculums across the United States. F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1896.
He was educated at Princeton University, and after graduating, he worked as a reporter for The Baltimore Evening Sun. Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre in 1920, and the two moved to Paris, where Fitzgerald began writing his most famous novels, including The Great Gatsby. After returning to the United States, Fitzgerald and Zelda lived in Hollywood and New York City, where Fitzgerald worked as a screenwriter. Zelda was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1930, and the couple was hospitalized separately.
In such novels as The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night, Fitzgerald captured the experience of the American upper class as it came of age and confronted the challenges of a new era.
Fitzgerald was an only child and his parents were both from wealthy families. His father, Edward Fitzgerald, was a salesman who descended from a long line of prominent Maryland landowners. F. Scott Fitzgeralds mother, Mary Molly McQuillan, was from an Irish Catholic family that had settled in Saint Paul. F. Scott Fitzgeralds parents married late in life and F. Scott Fitzgerald was consequently raised largely by his mother and her sisters. From his early childhood, F. Scott Fitzgerald was steeped in the traditions and values of upper-class America.
Fitzgerald attended a Catholic school for boys in Saint Paul before going on to Princeton University in 1913. At Princeton, Fitzgerald was part of the same social circles as John F. Kennedy and future US president James Forrestal. In 1917, Fitzgerald left Princeton to serve in World War I as an infantry officer with the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). Fitzgerald saw very little action during the war and spent most of his time stationed in northern Italy. After the war, Fitzgerald returned to Princeton where he completed his undergraduate degree in 1920.
In 1920, F. Scott Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre, a woman from a wealthy Alabama family. Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgeralds marriage was tumultuous and they were frequently in financial difficulty. The 1920s were a period of great social and cultural change in America and Fitzgerald captured this change in his novels. The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is perhaps Fitzgeralds most famous novel and is considered a classic of American literature. The Great Gatsby tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire who is obsessed with Daisy Buchanan, a woman from an old southern family.
In the 1930s, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote such novels as Tender Is the Night and This Side of Paradise. These novels dealt with the experience of the American upper class during the Depression. F. Scott Fitzgerald also worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood during the 1930s.
Despite being raised in an unstable home environment, Fitzgerald was an excellent student and athlete. He attended Princeton University where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre. F. Scott and Zelda were married in 1920, after F. Scott was discharged from the military following World War I.
The Fitzgeralds led a hectic and extravagant lifestyle, marked by heavy drinking and partying. This lifestyle took its toll on F. Scott and Zelda, who began to experience bouts of mental illness. The couple divorced in 1940.
Fitzgeralds’ writing career was sporadic and he often struggled to make a living. He died of a heart attack at the age of 44, leaving behind a legacy as one of Americas most celebrated authors.
Fitzgeralds’ life provides an interesting counterpoint to his novels which are often seen as romanticized portrayals of the Jazz Age. His writing is characterized by its acute insight into the decadence and moral corruption of Americas elites. Fitzgeralds’ work is also notable for its exploration of the disillusionment and angst which often accompanies adolescence and emerging adulthood. His novels and short stories are essential reading for anyone interested in understanding Americas most prosperous era.
Zelda encouraged F. Scott to drink and party, which led to his alcoholism. She was also known for being mentally unstable and would often have violent outbursts. F. Scott was very unhappy in the marriage and would often write about how much he hated her. In addition to his personal troubles, Fitzgeralds career was also on a decline by the late 1920s. He published fewer and fewer novels as the years went on, and most were commercial failures.
In October of 1940, F. Scott Fitzgerald suffered a heart attack and died a few days later at the age of 44. Zelda had died eight years earlier after spending the majority of her life in mental hospitals. Despite all of his personal demons and professional failures, F. Scott Fitzgerald remains one of the most celebrated authors of the twentieth century.
