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F. Scott Fitzgerald Facts

F. Scott Fitzgerald Facts
F. Scott Fitzgerald (Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald), the author of The Great Gatsby, was born on September 24th, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Mollie and Edward Fitzgerald. A few months before he was born his two older sisters were born. His parents moved to Buffalo in 1898 and sent him to Catholic schools, but when his father lost his job in 1908 his family moved back to Minnesota. His first story was published in his school newspaper when he was 13, and at 15 he was sent to New Jersey to attend a prep school. He later attended Princeton University to pursue writing. His first novel was published in 1920 and became a success instantly.
Interesting F. Scott Fitzgerald Facts:
F. Scott Fitzgerald fell in love with Zelda Sayre, an Alabama Supreme Court Justice's daughter before his first novel was published. She broke off the engagement because she didn't think he could support her.
When F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel This Side of Paradise was published he became an instant success. The financial success allowed him to pursue Zelda again and they became re-engaged and married.
F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda had one child together - a daughter named Frances Scott Fitzgerald. She was born in 1921.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel was The Beautiful and the Damned, which was published two years after the first, in 1922.
F. Scott Fitzgerald moved to France in 1924 and subsequently wrote his greatest novel The Great Gatsby. It was published in 1925.
The Great Gatsby was well recognized during his lifetime, but it wasn't until after F. Scott Fitzgerald's death that the book became known as the portrait of the 'Roaring Twenties' and as the greatest American novel.
Some believe that Jay Gatsby, the mysterious millionaire character in The Great Gatsby, is based upon a bootlegger named Max Gerlach.
As was common at the time, novelists wrote short stories for publication in magazines to help support them financially.
F. Scott Fitzgerald developed a serious drinking problem after finishing The Great Gatsby. This resulted in long bouts of writer's block, and along with his wife's mental health issues, F. Scott Fitzgerald's career floundered.
In 1934 F. Scott Fitzgerald's fourth novel was published. It was titled Tender is the Night and told the story of an American psychiatrist living in France who was married to a wealthy patient. The book did not do well at the time but gained an audience later on. It is considered to be a great American novel today.
In 1937 F. Scott Fitzgerald revived his career, this time as a Hollywood writer. He met with modest success.
In the late 1930s F. Scott Fitzgerald had a heart attack in Schwab's Drug Store, and was told to avoid over-exerting himself.
F. Scott Fitzgerald began writing The Love of the Last Tycoon in 1939. It was half completed when he died.
F. Scott Fitzgerald died on December 21st, 1940 in Hollywood, California, at the age of 44.
Zelda died in a fire in 1948 at the Highland Mental Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, where she was a patient.


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