Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald's most famous novel, The Great Gatsby, is considered one of the great pieces of American literature. Named after his distant cousin, the author of the Spar Spangled Banner, F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 24, 1896, to Edward and Mollie. As a child, Fitzgerald's father took the family from Minnesota to Buffalo, New York, and back to St. Paul as he pursued failed careers. Fitzgerald attended high school at the Newman School in New Jersey, and entered college at Princeton. In college he wrote musicals, humor pieces, and short stories for school publications and groups. Fitzgerald left school in 1917 for the Army where he wrote his first novel, The Romantic Egoist. It was rejected by Charles Scribner for publication, yet praised for its originality.

Stationed at Camp Sheridan, near Montgomery, Alabama, F. Scott Fitzgerald fell in love with Zelda Sayre, a judge's daughter. He re-submitted Egoist, was rejected again, and traveled with Zelda to New York to seek his fortune. Unwilling to wait for his success, Zelda broke their engagement. Fitzgerald, determined to become an author, quit his position in 1919 and returned to St. Paul to work on his writing. In St. Paul he began to be published steadily as a short story writer, and a collection of his stories made it to print: Flappers and Philosophers (1920). Meanwhile, his re-worked the novel, now titled This Side of Paradise (1920), and was finally published, making Fitzgerald famous. He wed Zelda a week later. They established a home in Great Neck, New York, and traveled to Europe. In Paris, Fitzgerald became acquainted with Ernest Hemingway and other notable American thinkers and artists of the twentieth century.

Life with Zelda was tumultuous. They lived a celebrity lifestyle and he was frequently forced to sell short stories to climb out of debt. His short story collections would be published regularly throughout his career, including Tales of the Jazz Age (1922), All the Sad Young Men (1926), and Taps at Reveille (1935). He also published two novels, one during the early happy years with Zelda, and one in the later years when her mind began to go. These were The Beautiful and the Damned (1922) and Tender is the Night (1934). Tender was panned by contemporary critics. Meanwhile, the novel for which Fitzgerald has become most famous, The Great Gatsby (1925), written in Rome and set on Long Island, sold poorly upon publication. The Fitzgeralds' lives grew ever more tragic: Zelda was institutionalized, and F. Scott struggled to regain the popularity recognized by the publication of his first novel. He moved to Hollywood where, debt-ridden, he worked briefly for Metro-Goldwyn Meyer. Three Comrades (1938) is the only film on which Fitzgerald received a writing credit. When his tenure there expired he tried his hand as a freelance script writer in a vain search for success. It was not until after his death of a heart attack in 1940 that The Great Gatsby would be recognized by critics and readers as one of the greatest American novels ever.

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Articles About Fitzgerald, F. Scott

Heavyweights: When F. Scott Fitzgerald Met Gene Tunney	November 29, 2007
A.J. Liebling, the writer who first called boxing "the sweet science," once said, "A boxer, like a writer, must stand alone." For centuries it seems, writers have had a unique and enduring fascination with boxers and boxing. From Homer to Nelson Algren to Joyce Carol Oates, writers have revealed an obsession for the sport that, at first glance, seems odd. However, Liebling's statement may explain the connection: both writers and boxers face their opponents--another boxer, a blank page--alone. Both know the pitfalls and the rewards of solitary struggles.
Fitzgerald, Hemingway And The Sun Also Rises	February 4, 2007
"Dear Charley - You wanted to know the decision on Hemingway: We took it, - with misgiving. There was of course a great [question]. I simply thought in the end that the balance was slightly in favor of acceptance, for all the worry [and] general misery involved."