F. Scott Fitzgerald: Biography

F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the foremost twentieth-century American writers, was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. His father was a businessman, and his mother was the daughter of an Irish immigrant. Although the Fitzgeralds lived just blocks from the city’s most elegant and wealthy families, they were not rich themselves.

For the most part, Scott remained at a boarding school. In 1913, Fitzgerald sought admission at Princeton University, where his literary achievements began to grow. By 1917, he was on academic probation, a factor that would convince him to join the army. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry.

In 1918, Fitzgerald met and fell in love with Zelda Sayre, the youngest daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court judge. She, however, refused to marry him until he could support the rather grand lifestyle she’d grown accustomed to. Therefore, in February 1919, Fitzgerald moved to New York and took up work with an advertising agency, hoping to earn enough money to marry Zelda. By June of 1919, Zelda, tired of waiting for Scott to earn his fortune, broke off their engagement. He then returned to St. Pauls to rewrite The Romantic Egotist, which was published in September that year. The novel was an instant success, and Fitzgerald could finally marry Zelda. Together, they would go on to represent what we now call “life in the 1920s.”

Over the course of his career, Fitzgerald wrote four complete novels. This Side of Paradise (1920) marked the beginning of his career. In 1922, Fitzgerald completed The Beautiful and the Damned. The Great Gatsby (1925), for which Fitzgerald is most well-known, was not very successful when published. His fourth novel, Tender Is the Night, was published in 1934.