What do you think?
Rate this book
By University Press of Mississippi Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald Paperback - December 2003
Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald assembles over thirty interviews with one of America's greatest novelists, the author of The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night. Although most of these are not standard interviews in the modern sense, the quotes from Fitzgerald and the contemporary journalistic reaction to him reveal much about his writing techniques, artistic wisdom, and life. Editor Matthew J. Bruccoli, the foremost Fitzgerald scholar, and Judith S. Baughman have collected the most usable and articulate pieces on Fitzgerald, including a three-part 1922 interview conducted for the St. Paul Daily News.Fitzgerald (1896-1940) died before the authorial interview became a literary subgenre after World War II. Although Fitzgerald enjoyed his celebrity, as is clear in these pieces, he had a poor sense of public relations and provided interviewers with opportunities to trivialize him. As a result, Fitzgerald was often treated condescendingly in the press. Seven of his interviews---five printed before 1924---have flapper in their headlines. In the Jazz Age---a term Fitzgerald coined---he was regarded as a spokesman for rebellious youth, as a playboy, as an authority on sex and marriage, as an expert on Prohibition, and as an immensely popular writer for his work published in the Saturday Evening Post. Yet his literary ambitions were sizable and his impact on American fiction immeasurable.
Paperback
First published December 1, 2003
59 people want to read
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2,042 books25.4k followersFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald, widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age, a term he popularized in his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. Although he achieved temporary popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald received critical acclaim only after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 19, 2023
Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald, edited by noted Fitzgerald scholar Matthew J. Bruccoli and Judith S. Baughman, and published in 2004, fills an important gap in the collection of books by and about Fitzgerald by collecting 37 interviews with the author that were originally published during his lifetime.
It’s fascinating to see how Fitzgerald was presented in the press during the 1920’s and 1930’s. In his lifetime, Fitzgerald was much more famous as “the author of This Side of Paradise” rather than “the author of The Great Gatsby.” None of the interviews in the book mention Gatsby in any detail, an indication of how the book was neglected by the public at the time it was published in 1925.
Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the reader aspects of Fitzgerald that might not always come across in his fiction. His sense of humor is usually on fine display in these interviews, and it’s interesting how often Fitzgerald mentions politics. Fitzgerald wasn’t a political writer, by any means, but it’s clear from these interviews that he viewed himself as a liberal. If all you know of Fitzgerald is his glittering portraits of the wealthy, you might not think that he would call himself a socialist, as he does in these interviews. Fitzgerald’s desire to show the corrosive effects of wealth in his fiction matches up with the personal political convictions that he espouses here.
There are many fascinating tidbits for Fitzgerald fanatics to gather from Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’ll describe some of my favorites. A highlight is Thomas Boyd’s long interview with Fitzgerald, conducted in 1921 in Dellwood/White Bear Lake, just outside of Fitzgerald’s hometown of Saint Paul. (The difference depends on how specific you want to get with the location of the house the Fitzgeralds were renting.) Thomas Boyd was a book critic who wrote an acclaimed World War I novel, Through the Wheat. Scott recruited Boyd and his wife Margaret, who published under the name Woodward Boyd, to join him at his publisher Scribners. Thomas Boyd described reading some of the manuscript of Fitzgerald’s second novel, The Beautiful and Damned. “He disappeared into the house and returned with the manuscript of The Beautiful and Damned. ‘Here it is.’ It was written on ordinary-sized paper and not typed. The pencil scrawl was in large letters and altogether it must have been two feet thick.” (p.17) It’s wonderful to have these kinds of firsthand details about Fitzgerald’s writing. You can’t help but put yourself in Thomas Boyd’s shoes and imagine the excitement of reading Fitzgerald’s handwritten manuscript.
As a left-hander, I’m always on the lookout for references to other left-handers. One of the articles says of Fitzgerald: “He is left-handed in everything save writing.” (p.95) I wonder if Scott was a natural left-hander who was switched to writing right-handed, as so many children were in those days? I’ve seen photos of Fitzgerald wearing a watch on his right wrist, which is usually a good indicator of a left-hander. Anyway, I will gladly accept F. Scott Fitzgerald as an honorary left-hander.
One of the most amazing interviews in this book is from 1927. The interview was titled “Fitzgerald, Spenglerian,” a reference to the German philosopher Oswald Spengler, whose book Decline of the West Fitzgerald was reading at the time. Fitzgerald sounds like a prophet:
“Mussolini, the last slap in the face of liberalism, is an omen for America...The idea that we’re the greatest people in the world because we have the most money in the world is ridiculous. Wait until this wave of prosperity is over! Wait ten or fifteen years! Wait until the next war on the Pacific, or against some European combination!”
Fifteen years after 1927 was 1942, when the United States, after suffering through the Great Depression, was at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy. Fitzgerald hit it right on the nose, although he didn’t live to see 1942. I’m not sure why some of the quotes from this interview aren’t more widely circulated, since they demonstrate Fitzgerald’s astute political thinking.
It’s always interesting to see how Fitzgerald is described by people who knew him. Interviewers vary on the color of his eyes between blue and green. Fitzgerald was described in a 1927 piece by Margaret Reid as “probably the best-looking thing ever turned out of Princeton.” (p.90) I’m sure Fitzgerald delighted in that. A 1928 piece informs us that “His ties and pocket handkerchiefs are all brightly-colored.” (p.95) I approve of Fitzgerald’s sartorial flair—I always use my ties as a way to get more color into an outfit.
Another reference to politics is made in a 1931 interview with the Montgomery Advertiser: “Mr. Fitzgerald, who said he was a Jeffersonian Democrat at heart and somewhat of a Communist in ideals, declared that the prohibition law was not only a foolish gesture but that it was a hindrance to the machine of government.” (p.101) It’s no surprise that Fitzgerald was against prohibition, but very interesting that he now moved even farther to the left in his politics. Perhaps the stock market crash of 1929 had made him slightly more radical.
My only small quibble with the explanatory notes was the footnote following this sentence: “His novel This Side of Paradise was published before his graduation from Princeton.” The footnote reads: “Untrue. This Side of Paradise was published in 1920.” (p.102) Yes, TSOP was published in 1920, but since Fitzgerald never actually graduated from Princeton, it’s technically true that the novel was published “before his graduation” since his graduation never actually occurred. It’s splitting hairs, I know. But don’t worry too much, the Princeton Class of 2017 awarded Fitzgerald an honorary degree, 100 years after he should have graduated.
Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald ends on a sad note. The last extended interview Fitzgerald ever gave was in September of 1936, on his 40th birthday. Recovering from a broken shoulder, Fitzgerald was in a bad place mentally as well, and he was really in no shape to be talking to any members of the press. But ambitious reporter Michel Mok surprised Fitzgerald by coming unannounced and knocking on the door of his room at Asheville, North Carolina’s Grove Park Inn. Fitzgerald should have slammed the door in Mok’s face. But Fitzgerald’s kindness took over, and he invited Mok in and rambled on about what a shambles his life was in at the moment. When Fitzgerald saw the article in print, he attempted suicide by overdosing on morphine. Fortunately, he was unsuccessful.
After Mok’s article, there’s just one more short piece in the book. Barely more than a single page, it’s a 1939 article from the Dartmouth College newspaper, and it focuses more on movie producer Walter Wanger than Fitzgerald. Neither man is directly quoted in the article. And so, F. Scott Fitzgerald fades out of Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald, leaving his own book without a parting word. It’s like a move Gatsby might have pulled, leaving one of his own parties while all the guests are still there.
Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald is essential reading for Fitzgerald fans, and it gives us a glimpse of what a fascinating and intelligent man F. Scott Fitzgerald was.
It’s fascinating to see how Fitzgerald was presented in the press during the 1920’s and 1930’s. In his lifetime, Fitzgerald was much more famous as “the author of This Side of Paradise” rather than “the author of The Great Gatsby.” None of the interviews in the book mention Gatsby in any detail, an indication of how the book was neglected by the public at the time it was published in 1925.
Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the reader aspects of Fitzgerald that might not always come across in his fiction. His sense of humor is usually on fine display in these interviews, and it’s interesting how often Fitzgerald mentions politics. Fitzgerald wasn’t a political writer, by any means, but it’s clear from these interviews that he viewed himself as a liberal. If all you know of Fitzgerald is his glittering portraits of the wealthy, you might not think that he would call himself a socialist, as he does in these interviews. Fitzgerald’s desire to show the corrosive effects of wealth in his fiction matches up with the personal political convictions that he espouses here.
There are many fascinating tidbits for Fitzgerald fanatics to gather from Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’ll describe some of my favorites. A highlight is Thomas Boyd’s long interview with Fitzgerald, conducted in 1921 in Dellwood/White Bear Lake, just outside of Fitzgerald’s hometown of Saint Paul. (The difference depends on how specific you want to get with the location of the house the Fitzgeralds were renting.) Thomas Boyd was a book critic who wrote an acclaimed World War I novel, Through the Wheat. Scott recruited Boyd and his wife Margaret, who published under the name Woodward Boyd, to join him at his publisher Scribners. Thomas Boyd described reading some of the manuscript of Fitzgerald’s second novel, The Beautiful and Damned. “He disappeared into the house and returned with the manuscript of The Beautiful and Damned. ‘Here it is.’ It was written on ordinary-sized paper and not typed. The pencil scrawl was in large letters and altogether it must have been two feet thick.” (p.17) It’s wonderful to have these kinds of firsthand details about Fitzgerald’s writing. You can’t help but put yourself in Thomas Boyd’s shoes and imagine the excitement of reading Fitzgerald’s handwritten manuscript.
As a left-hander, I’m always on the lookout for references to other left-handers. One of the articles says of Fitzgerald: “He is left-handed in everything save writing.” (p.95) I wonder if Scott was a natural left-hander who was switched to writing right-handed, as so many children were in those days? I’ve seen photos of Fitzgerald wearing a watch on his right wrist, which is usually a good indicator of a left-hander. Anyway, I will gladly accept F. Scott Fitzgerald as an honorary left-hander.
One of the most amazing interviews in this book is from 1927. The interview was titled “Fitzgerald, Spenglerian,” a reference to the German philosopher Oswald Spengler, whose book Decline of the West Fitzgerald was reading at the time. Fitzgerald sounds like a prophet:
“Mussolini, the last slap in the face of liberalism, is an omen for America...The idea that we’re the greatest people in the world because we have the most money in the world is ridiculous. Wait until this wave of prosperity is over! Wait ten or fifteen years! Wait until the next war on the Pacific, or against some European combination!”
Fifteen years after 1927 was 1942, when the United States, after suffering through the Great Depression, was at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy. Fitzgerald hit it right on the nose, although he didn’t live to see 1942. I’m not sure why some of the quotes from this interview aren’t more widely circulated, since they demonstrate Fitzgerald’s astute political thinking.
It’s always interesting to see how Fitzgerald is described by people who knew him. Interviewers vary on the color of his eyes between blue and green. Fitzgerald was described in a 1927 piece by Margaret Reid as “probably the best-looking thing ever turned out of Princeton.” (p.90) I’m sure Fitzgerald delighted in that. A 1928 piece informs us that “His ties and pocket handkerchiefs are all brightly-colored.” (p.95) I approve of Fitzgerald’s sartorial flair—I always use my ties as a way to get more color into an outfit.
Another reference to politics is made in a 1931 interview with the Montgomery Advertiser: “Mr. Fitzgerald, who said he was a Jeffersonian Democrat at heart and somewhat of a Communist in ideals, declared that the prohibition law was not only a foolish gesture but that it was a hindrance to the machine of government.” (p.101) It’s no surprise that Fitzgerald was against prohibition, but very interesting that he now moved even farther to the left in his politics. Perhaps the stock market crash of 1929 had made him slightly more radical.
My only small quibble with the explanatory notes was the footnote following this sentence: “His novel This Side of Paradise was published before his graduation from Princeton.” The footnote reads: “Untrue. This Side of Paradise was published in 1920.” (p.102) Yes, TSOP was published in 1920, but since Fitzgerald never actually graduated from Princeton, it’s technically true that the novel was published “before his graduation” since his graduation never actually occurred. It’s splitting hairs, I know. But don’t worry too much, the Princeton Class of 2017 awarded Fitzgerald an honorary degree, 100 years after he should have graduated.
Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald ends on a sad note. The last extended interview Fitzgerald ever gave was in September of 1936, on his 40th birthday. Recovering from a broken shoulder, Fitzgerald was in a bad place mentally as well, and he was really in no shape to be talking to any members of the press. But ambitious reporter Michel Mok surprised Fitzgerald by coming unannounced and knocking on the door of his room at Asheville, North Carolina’s Grove Park Inn. Fitzgerald should have slammed the door in Mok’s face. But Fitzgerald’s kindness took over, and he invited Mok in and rambled on about what a shambles his life was in at the moment. When Fitzgerald saw the article in print, he attempted suicide by overdosing on morphine. Fortunately, he was unsuccessful.
After Mok’s article, there’s just one more short piece in the book. Barely more than a single page, it’s a 1939 article from the Dartmouth College newspaper, and it focuses more on movie producer Walter Wanger than Fitzgerald. Neither man is directly quoted in the article. And so, F. Scott Fitzgerald fades out of Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald, leaving his own book without a parting word. It’s like a move Gatsby might have pulled, leaving one of his own parties while all the guests are still there.
Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald is essential reading for Fitzgerald fans, and it gives us a glimpse of what a fascinating and intelligent man F. Scott Fitzgerald was.
September 6, 2018
I've read this once before, about 10 years ago (maybe more)... by and large, the conversations and interviews included in this volume portray the callow, fatuous side of Fitzgerald. There's one notorious interview Fitzgerald gave to a New York Evening Post reporter on his 40th birthday which reads like a low blow.
July 26, 2018
A wonderful time capsule!
March 2, 2013
entertaining, repetitive, informative, evocative, descriptive
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews