F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
Author of The Great Gatsby
About the Author
F(rancis) Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896. He was educated at Princeton University and served in the U.S. Army from 1917 to 1919, attaining the rank of second lieutenant. In 1920 Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre, a young woman of the upper class, and they had a show more daughter, Frances. Fitzgerald is regarded as one of the finest American writers of the 20th Century. His most notable work was the novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). The novel focused on the themes of the Roaring Twenties and of the loss of innocence and ethics among the nouveau riche. He also made many contributions to American literature in the form of short stories, plays, poetry, music, and letters. Ernest Hemingway, who was greatly influenced by Fitzgerald's short stories, wrote that Fitzgerald's talent was "as fine as the dust on a butterfly's wing." Yet during his lifetime Fitzgerald never had a bestselling novel and, toward the end of his life, he worked sporadically as a screenwriter at motion picture studios in Los Angeles. There he contributed to scripts for such popular films as Winter Carnival and Gone with the Wind. Fitzgerald's work is inseparable from the Roaring 20s. Berenice Bobs Her Hair and A Diamond As Big As The Ritz, are two short stories included in his collections, Tales of the Jazz Age and Flappers and Philosophers. His first novel The Beautiful and Damned was flawed but set up Fitzgerald's major themes of the fleeting nature of youthfulness and innocence, unattainable love, and middle-class aspiration for wealth and respectability, derived from his own courtship of Zelda. This Side of Paradise (1920) was Fitzgerald's first unqualified success. Tender Is the Night, a mature look at the excesses of the exuberant 20s, was published in 1934. Much of Fitzgerald's work has been adapted for film, including Tender is the Night , The Great Gatsby, and Babylon Revisited which was adapted as The Last Time I Saw Paris by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1954. The Last Tycoon, adapted by Paramount in 1976, was a work in progress when Fitzgerald died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940, in Hollywood, California. Fitzgerald is buried in the historic St. Mary's Cemetery in Rockville, Maryland. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: F. Scott Fitzgerald Papers, Manuscripts Division,
Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections,
Princeton University Library
(photo courtesy of Princeton University)
Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections,
Princeton University Library
(photo courtesy of Princeton University)
Series
Works by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Novels and Stories 1920-1922: This Side of Paradise / Flappers and Philosophers / The Beautiful and the Damned / Tales… (2000) 434 copies
The curious case of Benjamin Button, and six other stories (Penguin Modern Classics) (2008) 182 copies
F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters: A New Collection Edited and Annotated by Matthew J. Bruccoli (1994) 122 copies
Collected Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading): Flappers and Philosophers and… (2007) 121 copies
Trimalchio: An Early Version of 'The Great Gatsby' (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald) (2000) 120 copies
F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby, All the Sad Young Men & Other Writings 1920–26 (LOA #353) (Library of… (2022) 99 copies
This Side of Paradise and Other Classic Works (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classic Collection) (2013) 90 copies
The Great Gatsby / Tender is the Night / This Side of Paradise / The Beautiful and the Damned / The Last Tycoon (1977) 61 copies
Tender Is the Night / This Side of Paradise / The Great Gatsby / The Last Tycoon (1948) — Author — 61 copies
Curious Case of Benjamin Button & Other Stories (Penguin Active Reading (Graded Readers)) (2011) 30 copies
The Thoughtbook of F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Secret Boyhood Diary (Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage) (1965) 30 copies
F. Scott Fitzgerald Four Pack - Benjamin Button, This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, The Diamond as big as… (2014) 18 copies
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and Other Stories [adapted - Longman Structural Readers] (1974) 13 copies
As ever, Scott Fitz--;: Letters between F. Scott Fitzgerald and his literary agent Harold Ober, 1919-1940 (1972) 12 copies
I grandi romanzi e i racconti: Al di qua del paradiso-Belli e dannati-Il grande Gatsby-Tenera è la notte-Racconti… (2011) 11 copies
Fitzgerald: My Lost City: Personal Essays, 1920-1940 (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald) (v. 4) (2005) 10 copies
Absolution, Le Premier Mai (May Day), Retour a Babylone (Babylon Revisited) (French Edition) (1972) 8 copies
F. Scott Fitzgerald Collection: The Great Gatsby, The Beautiful and Damned and Tender is the Night (Collins Classics) (2009) 8 copies
Crack Up - With Other Uncollected Pieces, Note-books & Unpublished Letters, Together With Letters From Gertrude Stein.. (1956) 7 copies
Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald 6 copies
The Great Gatsby, the Stories, the Last Tycoon, This Side of Paradise, Tender is the Night (1953) 6 copies
The Classic F. Scott Fitzgerald Collection: 5-Volume box set edition (Arcturus Classic Collections, 4) (2021) 6 copies
Penguin Readers Level 5: "the Baby Party" and Other Stories: Book and Audio Cassette (Penguin Readers Simplified Text) (1995) 6 copies
Crazy Sunday 5 copies
Gods of Darkness 5 copies
Des livres et une Rolls : préface de Charles Dantzig (Les Cahiers Rouges) (2013) — Author — 4 copies
TRÊS HORAS ENTRE DOIS AVIÕES 4 copies
The Great Gatsby and Related Stories [Deckle Edge Paper]: The Library of America Corrected Text (2023) 4 copies
Il curioso caso di Benjamin Button The curious case of Benjamin Button. Ediz. bilingue integrale. Con Segnalibro (2020) 4 copies
Reading & Training : F. Scott Fitzgerald : The diamond as big as the Ritz [book + sound recording] (2008) — Writer — 4 copies
Reading & Training : F. Scott Fitzgerald : The great Gatsby [book + sound recording] (2008) — Writer — 4 copies
Belos e Malditos 3 copies
Estranhos Embora Íntimos e Outros Contos Inéditos — Author — 3 copies
This Side of Paradise / The Last Tycoon — Author — 3 copies
The I.O.U. 3 copies
Spires and Gargoyles: Early Writings, 1909-1919 (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald) (2010) 3 copies
Benjamin Button / This Side of Paradise / The Beautiful and Damned / The Diamond as big as The Ritz 3 copies
Great Interviews of the 20th Century: F Scott Fitzgerald by Michel Mok (2007) — Contributor — 3 copies
Novels 3 copies
Troppo Carina Per Dirlo A Parole (Italian Edition) Piccoli Classici Paperback (Too cute for words and tell other… (1994) 3 copies
A Night At The Fair 3 copies
F. Scott Fitzgerald Collection, 45 Works: This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Flappers and Philosphers,… (2013) 3 copies
THE CRACK-UP E OUTROS ESCRITOS 2 copies
The F. Scott Fitzgerald Collection Volume One: This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Flappers and… (2020) 2 copies
Fie Fie Fi-Fi: A Facsimile of the 1914 Musical Score, With Illustrations from the Original (1996) 2 copies
Financiando a Finnegan 2 copies
Rare F Scott Fitzgerald / FRANKLIN LIBRARY THE STORIES OF F SCOTT Limited 1st ed 1977 (1977) 2 copies
PLAZERAREN GAU ILUNEKOAK 2 copies
Noveller 2 copies
The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night, This Side of Paradise, The Stories : 4 Volume Set (1969) 2 copies
Mal Por Mal e Outros Contos 2 copies
A este lado del paraíso ; El gran Gatsby ; [traducción, A este lado del paraíso, Juan Benet Goitia… (1979) — Author — 2 copies
The Baby Party {short story} 2 copies
Cuentos 2 copies
The Crack-Up & other stories 2 copies
Natten Är Ljuv 2 copies
38 racconti (racconti) 2 copies
The Basil, Josephine, and Gwen Stories (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald) (2009) 2 copies
The Great Gatsby This Side of Paradise Tender Is the Night Tales of the Jazz Age Babylon Revisited The Last Tycoon The… (1991) 2 copies
Due torti (in 38 racconti) 1 copy
Assoluzione (in 38 racconti) 1 copy
La longue fuite 1 copy
Racconti dispersi vol. II 1 copy
Ventotto racconti 1 copy
Festa da ballo 1 copy
Entre trois et quatre 1 copy
Francis Scott Fitzgerald - La Festa dei bambini | Mary Wilkins Freeman - Il vento nel cespuglio di rose — Author — 1 copy
Tenera è la notte 1 copy
BLINDETEA NOPTII 1 copy
GETSBI I MADH 1 copy
Niño Bien 1 copy
Book B0BTK6G5SV 1 copy
Létà del jazz 1 copy
Mas Aca del Paraíso 1 copy
gli ultimi fuochi 1 copy
La tarde de un escritor 1 copy
Velský Garsby 1 copy
Son Dus 1 copy
Historia de Pat Hobby 1 copy
28 Racconti (Vol.1) 1 copy
Takový Pěkný Par 1 copy
Cuentos de Scott Fitzerald 1 copy
Ir maiga nakts-- : romāns 1 copy
La Fêlure 1 copy
The Last Tycoon 1 copy
I Capolavori Di Francis Scott Fitzgerald. Di qua dal paradiso. Il grande Gatsby. Tenera e la notte. 1 copy
Z tej strony raju 1 copy
The Beautiful and Damned 1 copy
The Premium Major Collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald (Annotated): (Collection Includes The Beautiful and Damned, The… (2017) 1 copy
The Greatest Tales of F. Scott Fitzgerald: Bernice Bobs Her Hair, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, The Curious Case of… (2017) 1 copy
The Stories of Fitzgerald 1 copy
F . Scott Fitzgerald Collection: Benjamin Button, This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, The Diamond as big… (2020) 1 copy
No title 1 copy
Somnis d'hivern ; també: La Bernice es talla els cabells = Winter dreams ; also: Bernice bobs her hair (2013) 1 copy
Works of Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. Incl: The Beautiful and Damned, This Side of Paradise, Tales of the Jazz Age,… (2009) 1 copy
A Short Trip Home 1 copy
Classic American Fiction: four books by F. Scott Fitzgerald in a single file, improved 8/25/2010 (2009) 1 copy
Best Jazz Age Stories 1 copy
Borrowed time; short stories 1 copy
Emotional Bankruptcy 1 copy
Set of Three Books/ This Side of Paradise, the Great Gatsby, the Last Tycoon, By F. Scott Fitzgerald (1948) 1 copy
PLAR3:The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Multi Rom For Pack (Penguin Active Reading (Graded Readers)) (2011) 1 copy
The Genius Of F. Scott Fitzgerald: Flappers And Philosophers ( 8 Short Stories) (Volume 1) (2009) 1 copy
The Hungry Ocean 1 copy
Издержки хорошего воспитания 1 copy
Getsbi i madh 1 copy
The Vegetable; Or, from President to Postman (Read & Co. Classics Edition);With the Introductory Essay 'The Jazz Age… (2022) 1 copy
Porcelain and Pink 1 copy
Collectible Deluxe THE GREAT GATSBY and OTHER CLASSIC WORKS Bonded Leather Collectible Book NEW 1 copy
28 RACCONTI - 2 VOLUMI 1 copy
The Dial, Vol. 1. — owner — 1 copy
F. Scott Fitzgerald Papers 1 copy
Terna E A Noite 1 copy
Suve é a Noite 1 copy
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Greatest Novels: This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Tales of the Jazz Age,… (2021) 1 copy
جاتسبي العظيم 1 copy
Patt Hobby & Orson Welles 1 copy
ESTE LADO DO PARAISO 1 copy
Τρυφερή εἶναι ἡ νύχτα 1 copy
Az ólomkristály 1 copy
The Beautiful and Damned 1 copy
The beautiful amd damned 1 copy
The Basil, Josephine, and Gwen Stories (Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald) (2022) 1 copy
“The Long Way Out” 1 copy
Best of Fitzgerald: The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2020) 1 copy
The Great Gatsby 1 copy
The Great Gatsby 1 copy
Five by Fitzgerald 1 copy
Đại Gia Gatsby 1 copy
Associated Works
The American Short Story: A Collection of the Best Known and Most Memorable Stories by the Great American Authors (1994) — Contributor — 318 copies
American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps (2009) — Contributor — 264 copies
First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers (1994) — Contributor — 183 copies
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 3: From Heart of Darkness to Hemingway to Infinite Jest (2013) — Contributor — 147 copies
Novel History: Historians and Novelists Confront America's Past and Each Other (2001) — Contributor — 133 copies
Adaptations: From Short Story to Big Screen: 35 Great Stories That Have Inspired Great Films (2005) — Contributor — 122 copies
Writing New York: A Literary Anthology (Expanded 10th-Anniversary Edition) (2008) — Contributor — 93 copies
The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present (2020) — Contributor — 83 copies
Published and Perished: Memoria, Eulogies, and Remembrances of American Writers (2002) — Contributor — 37 copies
Best-Loved Short Stories: Flaubert, Chekhov, Kipling, Joyce, Fitzgerald, Poe and Others (2004) — Contributor — 23 copies
Amerika, Amerika bloemlezing — Contributor — 8 copies
The Best Short Stories of 1931 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story (1931) — Contributor — 7 copies
The Best Short Stories of 1940 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story (1940) — Contributor — 6 copies
The Best Short Stories of 1922 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story (2017) — Contributor — 6 copies
Best-In-Books, Volume 48: Dodsworth / Great Impersonation / Green Hat / Along With Other Short Stories and Excerpts (1961) — Contributor — 5 copies
The Best from Cosmopolitan — Contributor — 4 copies
Wives and Lovers — Contributor — 3 copies
Modern Short Stories — Contributor — 3 copies
The Best Short Stories of 1933 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story — Contributor — 1 copy
Trumps: A Collection of Short Stories — Contributor — 1 copy
Avon Modern Short Story Monthly No. 7 (14 Great stories by 14 Great Authors) (1943) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Fitzgerald, F. Scott
- Legal name
- Fitzgerald, Francis Scott Key
- Other names
- D'Invilliers, Thomas Parke
- Birthdate
- 1896-09-24
- Date of death
- 1940-12-21
- Burial location
- Rockville Union Cemetery, Rockville, Maryland, USA (1940)
St. Mary's Cemetery, Rockville, Maryland, USA (1975, reburied at the family plot) - Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
- Place of death
- Hollywood, California, USA
- Cause of death
- heart attack
- Places of residence
- St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Buffalo, New York, USA
New York, New York, USA
Towson, Maryland, USA
Hollywood, California, USA
Hackensack, New Jersey, USA (show all 10)
Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Montgomery, Alabama, USA
Paris, France
Encino, California, USA - Education
- Holy Angels Convent
Nardin Academy
St. Paul Academy
Newman School
Princeton University - Occupations
- novelist
short-story writer
screenwriter
playwright
poet
lyricist (show all 7)
second lieutenant - Relationships
- Fitzgerald, Zelda (wife)
Smith, Scottie Fitzgerald (daughter)
Lanahan, Eleanor (granddaughter)
Perkins, Maxwell E. (friend)
Wilson, Edmund (friend)
Hemingway, Ernest (friend) (show all 14)
Cowley, Malcolm (friend)
Murphy, Gerald (friend)
Lardner, Ring (friend)
West, Nathanael (friend)
Bishop, John Peale (friend)
Graham, Sheilah (girlfriend)
Key, Francis Scott (cousin)
Ring, Frances Kroll (personal secretary) - Organizations
- United States Army
- Awards and honors
- New Jersey Hall of Fame
Fitzgerald Theater - Agent
- Harold Ober (1929--1940)
- Short biography
- Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and short-story writer, although he was best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term which he coined. During his lifetime, he published four novels, four collections of short stories, and 164 short stories. Although he temporarily achieved popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald only received wide critical and popular acclaim after his death. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
Fitzgerald was born into an upper-middle-class family in St. Paul, Minnesota, but was primarily raised in New York. He attended Princeton University, but due to a failed relationship and a preoccupation with writing, he dropped out in 1917 to join the army. While stationed in Alabama, he fell in love with rich socialite Zelda Sayre. Although she initially rejected him due to his financial situation, Zelda agreed to marry Fitzgerald after he had published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920).
In the 1920s, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he was influenced by the modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, particularly Ernest Hemingway. His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him into the New York City elite. To maintain his lifestyle during this time, he also wrote several stories for magazines. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), was inspired by his rise to fame and relationship with Zelda. Although it received mixed reviews, The Great Gatsby is now widely praised, with some even labeling it the "Great American Novel". While Zelda was placed at a mental institute for her schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Faced with financial difficulties due to the declining popularity of his works, Fitzgerald turned to Hollywood, writing and revising screenplays. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he died in 1940, at the age of 44. A fifth, unfinished novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), was completed by Edmund Wilson and published after Fitzgerald's death.
Members
Discussions
Arete Editions’ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in Fine Press Forum (November 2023)
Century Press - Letterpress The Great Gatsby in Fine Press Forum (November 2022)
Found: Classic literature starts on a beach teen girl swimming to island with boy in Name that Book (June 2022)
"This Side of Paradise" - should I give up or keep reading? in Book talk (November 2015)
The Great Gatsby - FS editions in Folio Society Devotees (March 2015)
The Great Gatsby in Geeks who love the Classics (June 2013)
GR: The Great Gatsby- get in and read before the film release! in 75 Books Challenge for 2013 (April 2013)
F. Scott Fitzgerald story in Name that Book (February 2012)
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Statistics
- Works
- 623
- Also by
- 126
- Members
- 124,910
- Popularity
- #59
- Rating
- 3.8
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- ISBNs
- 3,460
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- 38
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