The life and works of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Overview of the life and career of American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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Transcript
WHO WAS?
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald was a 20th-century American short-story writer and novelist.
He completed four novels and over 150 short stories in his lifetime.
BORN
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He shares a birthplace with two of his most famous fictional characters: Amory Blaine from "This Side of Paradise" (1920) and Nick Carraway from "The Great Gatsby" (1925).
LITERARY WORKS
"This Side of Paradise" (1920), a novel about social climbing and shifting morals in the Jazz Age, made Fitzgerald famous.
"The New York Times" Book Review called it “as nearly perfect as such a work could be.”
Today Fitzgerald is best known as the author of "The Great Gatsby," which is widely considered “the great American novel.”
FAMILY LIFE
F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda Sayre, had a tumultuous and very public relationship characterized by excessive drinking, partying, and fighting.
The pair had one daughter, who was named Frances and was often called “Scottie.”
In October 1939 Fitzgerald began writing "The Last Tycoon," a novel about Hollywood that represented his ideal American life (and portrayed the kind of man who could achieve it).
DEATH
He died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940, when the novel was only half-finished. He was 44 years old.
“That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald was a 20th-century American short-story writer and novelist.
He completed four novels and over 150 short stories in his lifetime.
BORN
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He shares a birthplace with two of his most famous fictional characters: Amory Blaine from "This Side of Paradise" (1920) and Nick Carraway from "The Great Gatsby" (1925).
LITERARY WORKS
"This Side of Paradise" (1920), a novel about social climbing and shifting morals in the Jazz Age, made Fitzgerald famous.
"The New York Times" Book Review called it “as nearly perfect as such a work could be.”
Today Fitzgerald is best known as the author of "The Great Gatsby," which is widely considered “the great American novel.”
FAMILY LIFE
F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda Sayre, had a tumultuous and very public relationship characterized by excessive drinking, partying, and fighting.
The pair had one daughter, who was named Frances and was often called “Scottie.”
In October 1939 Fitzgerald began writing "The Last Tycoon," a novel about Hollywood that represented his ideal American life (and portrayed the kind of man who could achieve it).
DEATH
He died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940, when the novel was only half-finished. He was 44 years old.
“That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald