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Scott Fitzgerald is Born
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, known as Scott Fitzgerald, was born in St. Paul Minnesota to a middle-class Catholic family. He was the only son of an unsuccessful father. -
First Story
When Fitzgerald was 13, he wrote his first story in the school newspaper of the St. Paul Academy. This was a detective story, and he was later kicked out of the Academy. -
Fitzgerald drops out of Princeton
Fitzgerald had a history of not doing well in school. Since high school he had not done well academically. This continued into college with him being one of the worst students in his class. During his junior year he dropped out and joined the army after formally flunking. -
First Novel
Scott Fitzgerald published his first novel a year after he was discharged from the army and moved to New York. The novel was called This Side of Paradise. It's about the lives of American youth at the time of the jazz age. It was an immediate best seller and made him incredibly wealthy. It was the novel of the time. Within the first year it sold 50,000 copies. -
Fitzgerald Marries Zelda
After one week of his first novel, he felt comfortable enough to ask Zelda to marry him. He met Zelda in 1917 while he was in the army stationed in Alabama. Zelda refused to commit herself to him until he was financially able to support her. Fitzgerald's first novel was an immediate best seller providing him with the financial stability to be able to marry Zelda. They exchanged vows in the New York St. Patrik's Cathedral. -
Fitzgeralds Second Novel
Fitzgerald was working on his second novel, The Beautiful and Damned, when Zelda got pregnant. After his daughter's birth he returned to working on the novel. The novel is about a young artist and his wife who becomes demoralized and bankrupt while partying in New York. The book sold over 50,000 copies that year. -
The Great Gatsby
Scott Fitzgerald's most famous novel is The Great Gatsby. The book is set in the Jazz Age in New York and tells the tragic story of a man attempting to pursue a woman he loves. The story gives an insight to the American life at the time. When The Great Gatsby first came out it was known as a failure in comparison to his past works and for years did not have many sales. However, decades later the book became very popular and today is still one of the biggest selling American classics. -
Film Writing in Hollywood
Fitzgerald and Zelda moved to Hollywood in 1927 after film producer John Considine invited him to write a flapper comedy. During this time Fitzgerald's and Zelda's marriage becomes strained as Fitzgerald has an affair with actress Lois Moran. -
Fitzgeralds decrease in popularity
When the great depression came about Fitzgeralds works were considered elitist and materialistic. People saw Fitzgeralds more as an era or age rather than a writer. All his works were about the jazz age so when that time passed so did his time. People began to turn their backs on Fitzgerald. -
Tender is the Night
Fitzgerald's novel Tender is the Night debuted in April 1934 and received mixed reviews. Critics believed that Fitzgeralds word had not lived up to their expectations. In the first 3 months approximately 12,000 copies sold, but since then the book's reputation has grown significantly. -
Fitzgeralds alcoholism and attempted suicide
Through his whole life Fitzgerald has struggled with alcoholism. However, it got worse in his last 10 years of life. In 1936 Journalist Michel Mok of the New York Post published a report about Fitzgerald's alcoholism and career failure in a nationally distributed article. Fitzgeralds reputation took a blow, and he attempted suicide after reading. -
Sheilah Graham
3 years before his death, Fitzgerald began a relationship with American gossip columnist Sheilah Graham. She was his last and final companion before death. Though through their relationship Fitzgerald felt guilt over Zelda. Graham was with Fitzgerald when he got a heart attack and died. -
Treatment
During Fitzgerlad's work on Winter Carnival in 1939 he had an alcoholic relapse and sought out treatment by a psychiatrist. -
The Death of Scott Fitzgerald
While he was halfway through his last novel, The Last Tycoon, he got a sudden heard attack and died. The heart attack was due to occlusive coronary arteriosclerosis. He was 44 years old. -
Rising popularity of The Great Gatsby
By 1960, 35 years after the original publication and 20 years after Fitzgeralds death, the book was selling over 100,000 copies per year. By the 2000s The Great Gatsby had sold millions of copies and is required to be read in many English classrooms.