Francis Scott Fitzgerald is one of the key figures in English-language literature of the first half of the 20th century, the author of five magnificent novels (including Tender is the Night and The Great Gatsby). His works are a kind of symbol of the "age of jazz" - this term was introduced into circulation by Fitzgerald himself, as he called the period in US history from the end of the First World War to the Great Depression.
Life before literary career
Francis Scott Fitzgerald was born into a wealthy Catholic family in the small town of St. Paul (this town is located in Minnesota) in September 1896. He was named after his great-uncle, who, by the way, was the author of the words of the US anthem.
From 1908 to 1910, Francis Scott attended St. Paul Academy, from 1911 to 1913 - Newman School, and from 1913 to 1917 - the most respectable Priston University. In Princeton, the young man went in for sports and wrote stories for various competitions.
In 1917, just before graduation, Fitzgerald dropped out and volunteered for the army. Here he spent two years, but did not participate in real battles. Demobilized in 1919, Fitzgerald worked as an advertising agent for some time, but failed to build a career in this area.
Fitzgerald's first three novels
While still in the army, the future writer met the charming Zelda Sayr - she was the daughter of a wealthy judge in the state of Alabama and was considered an enviable bride. Zelda seriously influenced Fitzgerald's later biography. She liked Francis Scott, but her parents were not very happy with such a groom: after all, at that time he did not have any definite income or earnings.
This state of affairs forced Fitzgerald to return to work on his manuscript, which he had previously sent to a couple of publishing houses (however, it was certainly returned back). In March 1920, Fitzgerald managed to publish his debut novel, This Side of Paradise. This book instantly became a bestseller (many perceived it as a manifesto of a new generation) and made the aspiring author famous. And immediately after that, the marriage between Francis Scott and Zelda was finally concluded - they officially became husband and wife.
The first book brought Fitzgerald a lot of money, which allowed the newlyweds to live in a big way. Their names began to appear frequently in the yellow press. And two young people fueled everyone's interest in them - their lives consisted of alcohol parties (even then both Zelda and Francis abused alcohol), receptions, rest in the best resorts and scandalous antics, which were reported in detail by the newspapermen.
Fitzgerald's next novel, The Beautiful and the Damned, appeared in bookstore stands in 1922. This novel describes a not too happy marriage of two wealthy representatives of the artistic creative environment. The film rights to this novel were subsequently bought by movie mogul Jack Warner.
In the same 1922, Fitzgerald published the collection "Tales of the Jazz Age", and in 1923 - the comedy play "Razmaznya".
In 1924, Francis Scott moved to Europe for a while - first he lived in the Apennine Peninsula, and then in France. While in the French capital, he met at a bar with another legendary writer - Hemingway. Francis Scott was only three years older than Ernest, and they quickly became friends.
In addition, in Paris, Fitzgerald completed work on the book "The Great Gatsby" - a book that is considered the main literary work of the "age of jazz". The action here takes place in an elite district of New York, one of the characters is the mysterious rich man Gatsby, who, by coincidence, becomes involved in the death of a young woman … The first edition of the novel sold poorly enough (only about 24,000 copies were sold, a modest result for those times), which, however, did not prevent Hollywood director Herbert Brenon from making a silent black-and-white film based on the book in a year.
Schizophrenia Zelda and the novel "Tender is the Night"
Returning from France to the States, the writer published a collection of short stories under the title All These Sad Young Men (1926). Already at this time, the life of Francis Scott ceases to resemble a continuous holiday. His wife Zelda begins to go crazy and do crazy things (for example, once, in a fit of jealousy, she threw herself down the stairs of a restaurant). Francis, in turn, begins to drink even more often than before, he has a prolonged creative crisis. In 1930, doctors diagnosed Zelda with schizophrenia, and from that moment she spent a significant part of her time in clinics.
In 1934, after a long hiatus, Fitzgerald published the novel Tender is the Night. This thin and colorful novel tells the story of a love triangle, the participants of which are the psychiatrist Dick Diver, his wife Nicole, who has schizophrenia (a similar situation, of course, was well known to Francis Scott), and the young actress Rosemary, who is in love with Dick. Contemporaries in the United States at first did not appreciate this wonderful book. Fitzgerald at some point even suggested that one of the publishers rework the novel, but did not manage to do this.
Work in Hollywood and other events in recent years
In 1937, there was no trace of Fitzgerald's former wealth, and therefore he decided to move to California and become a screenwriter in Hollywood. Alas, in this field, he was not destined to achieve great success. Producers rejected his scripts or hired other people to rewrite them.
In Hollywood, Fitzgerald began to meet with journalist Sheila Graham, who sincerely wanted to help Scott cope with the "green snake". But the writer still periodically went into binges.
In the fall of 1939, Fitzgerald began writing The Last Tycoon. This work, dedicated to the seamy side of the film business, remained unfinished and came out (like the collection "Crash") only when the author was no longer there.
Francis Scott Fitzgerald died of myocardial infarction at the end of December 1940.
