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Zelda Fitzgerald: The Biography
Zelda The Biography
Even as a child, Zelda Fitzgerald was independent and headstrong. The chafing restrictions of a typical upbringing in upper-class, small town Alabama simply did not apply to Zelda, who was described as an unusual child and permitted to roam the streets with little supervision. Zelda refused to blossom into a typical 'Southern belle' on anyone's terms but her own and while still in high school enjoyed the status of a local celebrity for her shocking behavior. Everybody in town knew the name Zelda Sayre. Queen of the Montgomery social scene, Zelda had a different beau ready and willing to show her a good time for every day of the week.
Before meeting F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda's life was a constant pursuit of pleasure. With little thought for the future and no responsibilities to speak of, Zelda committed herself fully to the mantra that accompanied her photo in her high school graduation "Why should all life be work, when we all can borrow. Let's think only of today, and not worry about tomorrow." But for now Zelda was still in rehearsal for her real life to begin, a life she was sure would be absolutely extraordinary.
Zelda Sayre married F. Scott Fitzgerald on the 3rd of April 1920 and left sleepy Montgomery behind in order to dive headfirst into the shimmering, glamourous life of a New York socialite. With the publication of Scott's first novel, This Side of Paradise , Zelda found herself thrust into the limelight as the very epitome of the Flapper lifestyle. Concerned chiefly with fashion, wild parties and flouting social expectations, Zelda and Scott became icons of the Jazz Age, the personification of beauty and success.
What Zelda and Scott shared was a romantic sense of self-importance that assured them that their life of carefree leisure and excess was the only life really worth living. Deeply in love, the Fitzgeralds were like to sides of the same coin, each reflecting the very best and worst of each other. While the world fell in love with the image of the Fitzgeralds they saw on the cover of magazines, behind the scenes the Fitzgerald's marriage could not withstand the tension of their creative arrangement. Zelda was Scott's muse and he mercilessly mined the events of their life for material for his books. Scott claimed Zelda's memories, things she said, experiences she had and even passages from her diary as his possessions and used them to form the basis of his fictional works.
Zelda had a child but the domestic sphere offered no comfort or purpose for her. The Flapper lifestyle was not simply a phase she lived through, it formed the very basis of her character and once the parties grew dull, the Fitzgeralds' drinking became destructive and Zelda's beauty began to fade, the world held little allure for her. Zelda sought reprieve in work and tried to build a career as a ballet dancer. When that didn't work out she turned to writing but was forbidden by Scott from using her own life as material. Convinced that she would never leave her mark on the world as deeply or expressively as Scott had, Zelda retreated into herself and withdrew from the people she knew in happier times.
The later years of Zelda's life were marred by her detachment from reality as, diagnosed with schizophrenia, Zelda spent the last eighteen years of her life living in and out of psychiatric hospitals. As Scott's life unraveled due to alcohol abuse, Zelda looked back on the years they had spent together, young and wild and beautiful, as the best of her life. She may have been right but she was wrong about one thing, Zelda did leave her mark on the world and it was a deep and expressive mark that no one could have left but her.
Zelda The Biography
Even as a child, Zelda Fitzgerald was independent and headstrong. The chafing restrictions of a typical upbringing in upper-class, small town Alabama simply did not apply to Zelda, who was described as an unusual child and permitted to roam the streets with little supervision. Zelda refused to blossom into a typical 'Southern belle' on anyone's terms but her own and while still in high school enjoyed the status of a local celebrity for her shocking behavior. Everybody in town knew the name Zelda Sayre. Queen of the Montgomery social scene, Zelda had a different beau ready and willing to show her a good time for every day of the week.
Before meeting F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda's life was a constant pursuit of pleasure. With little thought for the future and no responsibilities to speak of, Zelda committed herself fully to the mantra that accompanied her photo in her high school graduation "Why should all life be work, when we all can borrow. Let's think only of today, and not worry about tomorrow." But for now Zelda was still in rehearsal for her real life to begin, a life she was sure would be absolutely extraordinary.
Zelda Sayre married F. Scott Fitzgerald on the 3rd of April 1920 and left sleepy Montgomery behind in order to dive headfirst into the shimmering, glamourous life of a New York socialite. With the publication of Scott's first novel, This Side of Paradise , Zelda found herself thrust into the limelight as the very epitome of the Flapper lifestyle. Concerned chiefly with fashion, wild parties and flouting social expectations, Zelda and Scott became icons of the Jazz Age, the personification of beauty and success.
What Zelda and Scott shared was a romantic sense of self-importance that assured them that their life of carefree leisure and excess was the only life really worth living. Deeply in love, the Fitzgeralds were like to sides of the same coin, each reflecting the very best and worst of each other. While the world fell in love with the image of the Fitzgeralds they saw on the cover of magazines, behind the scenes the Fitzgerald's marriage could not withstand the tension of their creative arrangement. Zelda was Scott's muse and he mercilessly mined the events of their life for material for his books. Scott claimed Zelda's memories, things she said, experiences she had and even passages from her diary as his possessions and used them to form the basis of his fictional works.
Zelda had a child but the domestic sphere offered no comfort or purpose for her. The Flapper lifestyle was not simply a phase she lived through, it formed the very basis of her character and once the parties grew dull, the Fitzgeralds' drinking became destructive and Zelda's beauty began to fade, the world held little allure for her. Zelda sought reprieve in work and tried to build a career as a ballet dancer. When that didn't work out she turned to writing but was forbidden by Scott from using her own life as material. Convinced that she would never leave her mark on the world as deeply or expressively as Scott had, Zelda retreated into herself and withdrew from the people she knew in happier times.
The later years of Zelda's life were marred by her detachment from reality as, diagnosed with schizophrenia, Zelda spent the last eighteen years of her life living in and out of psychiatric hospitals. As Scott's life unraveled due to alcohol abuse, Zelda looked back on the years they had spent together, young and wild and beautiful, as the best of her life. She may have been right but she was wrong about one thing, Zelda did leave her mark on the world and it was a deep and expressive mark that no one could have left but her.
Zelda The Biography
- GenresBiography
40 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 25, 2017
48 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 4, 2020
Short biography but the editing was lacking. On a trip to Asheville NC, we took the trolley car tour and one of the “highlights” was the Highland Hospital where Zelda resided and died.
March 2, 2017
An unedited mess
I am not familiar with this press, but I don't believe this book was edited at all. There are grammatical errors, factual errors, continuity mistakes, typos, cut and paste errors, tense changes and more. I can't think how this book made it to publication. I would not purchase another item from University Press Biographies.
I am not familiar with this press, but I don't believe this book was edited at all. There are grammatical errors, factual errors, continuity mistakes, typos, cut and paste errors, tense changes and more. I can't think how this book made it to publication. I would not purchase another item from University Press Biographies.
February 7, 2017
A great quick read of Zelda & F Scott Fitzgerald.
I read the book Zelda as a teenager introducing me to a way of life and characters from my grandparents time. I remember discussing these people with my grandmother and hearing her opinion of F Scott Fitzgerald s prose & discussing the parallels of does social change that took place in the 19 1920s and the social change that was taking place in the 1960s. In many ways they were very much the same, out with the old in with the new let's see who we can totally embarrass and freak out how much can we drink how many drugs can we do how naked can we be it really wasn't much different. I have just finished watching the first season of Z on Amazon. I loved it. Can't wait for the next season!
I read the book Zelda as a teenager introducing me to a way of life and characters from my grandparents time. I remember discussing these people with my grandmother and hearing her opinion of F Scott Fitzgerald s prose & discussing the parallels of does social change that took place in the 19 1920s and the social change that was taking place in the 1960s. In many ways they were very much the same, out with the old in with the new let's see who we can totally embarrass and freak out how much can we drink how many drugs can we do how naked can we be it really wasn't much different. I have just finished watching the first season of Z on Amazon. I loved it. Can't wait for the next season!
July 11, 2019
You're better off just reading her Wikipedia page and following a few links.
It is not just poorly-written and edited, it is also entirely clueless of what writing or editing happen to be. For example, the whole issue of domestic violence within the couple begins and ends in the same sentence, not to mentioned anywhere else! And then the act itself is hidden inside a run-on sentence. See:
"Fed up with life in Wilmington and perhaps embarrassed by a terrible scene they had caused during a visit from Zelda's sister Rosalind Smith, during which Scott slapped Zelda so hard he made her nose bleed, the Fitzgeralds moved back to France."
This "book" was once someone's homework, the one that the dog refused to eat, so University Press picked it up and glued on a pretty lady's picture.
It is not just poorly-written and edited, it is also entirely clueless of what writing or editing happen to be. For example, the whole issue of domestic violence within the couple begins and ends in the same sentence, not to mentioned anywhere else! And then the act itself is hidden inside a run-on sentence. See:
"Fed up with life in Wilmington and perhaps embarrassed by a terrible scene they had caused during a visit from Zelda's sister Rosalind Smith, during which Scott slapped Zelda so hard he made her nose bleed, the Fitzgeralds moved back to France."
This "book" was once someone's homework, the one that the dog refused to eat, so University Press picked it up and glued on a pretty lady's picture.
May 30, 2017
intersting read. I learned quite a few things about Zelda Fitzgerald that I never knew.
October 1, 2017
Although a short read I really enjoyed it.
March 10, 2017
Although this is a quick read on the life of Zelda Fitzgerald the editing was terrible and made some parts of the story unreadable. At one point a persons name changed 3 times. At another the city changed from Montgomery, to St. Paul to some place in the east and I couldn't figure out where the heck they were supposed to be. Embarrassingly bad editing.
February 9, 2017
The Biography of Zelda Fitzgerald was a short read.
In fact, her life though very tumultuous was very short and so was that of her husband.
They both had great opportunities, were very talented, travelled a lot, and had wealthy and influential friends.
One would have thought that those attributes would have motivated them to greater heights.
Instead, her husband became addicted to alcohol, and neglected his writing, which was their major source of income.
Zelda’s desire for the lavish lifestyle may have been her downfall.
In spite of everything, Zelda left her mark on the world since many people are still interested in her biography
I enjoyed it very much.
In fact, her life though very tumultuous was very short and so was that of her husband.
They both had great opportunities, were very talented, travelled a lot, and had wealthy and influential friends.
One would have thought that those attributes would have motivated them to greater heights.
Instead, her husband became addicted to alcohol, and neglected his writing, which was their major source of income.
Zelda’s desire for the lavish lifestyle may have been her downfall.
In spite of everything, Zelda left her mark on the world since many people are still interested in her biography
I enjoyed it very much.
February 6, 2017
Good overview
More of a long article than a book. If you want a good overview of her life, start with this.
More of a long article than a book. If you want a good overview of her life, start with this.
April 7, 2017
Non-fiction (?) many facts did not agree with other books I've read/am reading. Did not like reviews of two books included-seemed to list how this or that is related to Zelda's history with Scott, her family, etc.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2017
Interesting read
The telling of Zelda Fitzgerald's life has often only included her luge as Scott Fitzgerald's wife. This told more about her as an individual. It does need better editing.
The telling of Zelda Fitzgerald's life has often only included her luge as Scott Fitzgerald's wife. This told more about her as an individual. It does need better editing.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews