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As ever, Scott Fitz: Letters between F. Scott Fitzgerald & Harold Ober 1919-40
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 9, 2015
I didn't find what I was looking for in this book: letters from FSF to his editor regarding the writing and development of The Great Gatsby. Other novels and short stories are described, but the Gatsby material (some of which I've seen reproduced in other books/papers) is conspicuously absent.
Despite the absence of that material, this is a good reproduction of Fitzgerald's rather idiosyncratic writing style in correspondence. His handwriting was not always the clearest, and the editing here is done quite faithfully. You get a real sense for the character of Fitzgerald in a way that I haven't gotten from several biographies. For instance, it is interesting (and possibly telling, given their relationship and careers) that Fitzgerald consistently misspelled Hemingway's name as "Hemmingway" even after receiving letters from his editor that had the correct spelling. I can't say exactly what I think that means... though I have a theory, but it is strangely compelling evidence that they were less than chummy.
Those familiar with the author's biography will find other aspects of his life appear with due tragic inevitability. The deterioration of Zelda comes in dribs and drabs throughout these letters, and Fitzgerald's own state of mind in various points of his life also appear in various ways. The highpoints of literary success, the slide into superfluity, the Hollywood years... it all plays out like a play seen through a smokey mirror.
Ober's letters are much more concise, to the point and business-like. He was, after all, a professional dealing with something of a debutante, and his stability is certainly one of the things that appealed to Fitzgerald. He is quite friendly--often in a touching and charming way--but one never gets a sense that he's unaware of his role in that relationship, and he is careful to maintain his position in it--very much to his credit.
The text is, overall, very well organized and the transcription done with the apparent ease of dogged effort, so I can't fault the book for that reproduction. It is odd that the letters I was specifically looking for didn't appear in this particular book, because I know they exist--I've seen quotes, excerpts and even reproductions. Only a handful of letters regarding The Great Gatsby appear in this volume, and only after the publication of the book. So, barring some sort of strange circumstances of which I remain ignorant, I do fault it for that lack. However, I'll only deduct a star for that personal disappointment even if it isn't entirely fair to rate a book on that basis alone. After all, The Great Gatsby was/is Fitzgerald's most lasting and popular work, so the absence of that material is notable.
I doubt most folks are going to pick up a book like this one unless they have a particular interest in Fitzgerald or epistolary works on the whole (guilty for both of those things for me) and I can really only recommend it to folks of either stripe. Readers of Fitzgerald's work who want to know more about the man who banged out that work would be better off with a biography or two before picking up a book like this one. However, should the interest survive the story of his life in more traditional form, a book like this one would be a good next step.
Despite the absence of that material, this is a good reproduction of Fitzgerald's rather idiosyncratic writing style in correspondence. His handwriting was not always the clearest, and the editing here is done quite faithfully. You get a real sense for the character of Fitzgerald in a way that I haven't gotten from several biographies. For instance, it is interesting (and possibly telling, given their relationship and careers) that Fitzgerald consistently misspelled Hemingway's name as "Hemmingway" even after receiving letters from his editor that had the correct spelling. I can't say exactly what I think that means... though I have a theory, but it is strangely compelling evidence that they were less than chummy.
Those familiar with the author's biography will find other aspects of his life appear with due tragic inevitability. The deterioration of Zelda comes in dribs and drabs throughout these letters, and Fitzgerald's own state of mind in various points of his life also appear in various ways. The highpoints of literary success, the slide into superfluity, the Hollywood years... it all plays out like a play seen through a smokey mirror.
Ober's letters are much more concise, to the point and business-like. He was, after all, a professional dealing with something of a debutante, and his stability is certainly one of the things that appealed to Fitzgerald. He is quite friendly--often in a touching and charming way--but one never gets a sense that he's unaware of his role in that relationship, and he is careful to maintain his position in it--very much to his credit.
The text is, overall, very well organized and the transcription done with the apparent ease of dogged effort, so I can't fault the book for that reproduction. It is odd that the letters I was specifically looking for didn't appear in this particular book, because I know they exist--I've seen quotes, excerpts and even reproductions. Only a handful of letters regarding The Great Gatsby appear in this volume, and only after the publication of the book. So, barring some sort of strange circumstances of which I remain ignorant, I do fault it for that lack. However, I'll only deduct a star for that personal disappointment even if it isn't entirely fair to rate a book on that basis alone. After all, The Great Gatsby was/is Fitzgerald's most lasting and popular work, so the absence of that material is notable.
I doubt most folks are going to pick up a book like this one unless they have a particular interest in Fitzgerald or epistolary works on the whole (guilty for both of those things for me) and I can really only recommend it to folks of either stripe. Readers of Fitzgerald's work who want to know more about the man who banged out that work would be better off with a biography or two before picking up a book like this one. However, should the interest survive the story of his life in more traditional form, a book like this one would be a good next step.
May 5, 2020
Last October, I attended the Collingswood Book Festival for the first time. One of my favorite parts of the book festival was all of the books for sale, especially those that were used. As a self-proclaimed bookworm with a never-ending TBR pile, I had a hard time limiting my purchases. However, I did manage to find a complete gem of a book for $3 being sold on the lawn of a local church. That book was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s As Ever, Scott Fitz -, a collection of letters between F. Scott Fitzgerald and his literary agent, Harold Ober. This was an amazing find for a huge Fitzgerald fan like myself, and a book I never even knew existed before this moment.
As Ever, Scott Fitz – is extremely well organized and includes letters from 1919 – Fitzgerald’s death in 1940. A majority of the letters are between Fitzgerald and Ober. Still, there is a handful from Harold Ober’s wife, Anne, and Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, and daughter, Scottie mixed in along with a handful of letters from other magazine editors and people that Fitzgerald interacted with. The editors of As, Ever – Scott Fitz also chose to include many wires sent between Fitzgerald and Ober, which at first I thought was a bad decision as I thought it would be boring to read about Fitzgerald’s requests for money and advances. Still, as I read through the book, I understood why the editors chose to include these, and I think it ties into the story nicely.
I don’t think people always consider collections of letters to tell a story, but that is exactly what the letters between Fitzgerald and Ober do. The letters and wires are separated into five sections: 1. Early Success (1919-1923), 2. Boom and Europe (1924-1929), 3. Depression (1929-1934), 4. Disaster (1935-1937), and 5. Hollywood (1937-1940). The letters offer a closer look at Fitzgerald and allow readers to get to know him on a more personal level that even the best biography (or even an autobiography, for that manner) would not have been able to offer. The readers can truly “hear” the conversations between Fitzgerald and Ober or, at times, his wife and daughter or others that make an appearance and celebrate his success, failures, and struggles alongside him.
One of the things I learned through reading these collections of letters was how loyal he was to Harold Ober, up until the end. Sure, some may argue against this point since he broke away from Ober in the end after he refused to advance him more money. However, I think that was mainly due to him being at the end of his life, slipping back into drinking, and struggling. I think Ober did not want to advance this money not only because he didn’t have it, but because he wanted to protect Fitzgerald and prevent him from succumbing to alcoholism again or falling greater into debt. Fitzgerald was an incredible writer, and Ober knew that even when his later works didn’t reflect that. Ober never gave up on him; rather, he pushed Fitzgerald to be the incredible writer he knew he was capable of being.
Fitzgerald had a strong sense of trust and love for Ober. I think that this is most clearly seen by the way he always had the Obers look out for Scottie and how many times it seemed like Ober was more of a father to Scottie than Fitzgerald himself. I am torn in what I feel about Fitzgerald as a father. Part of me wants to say he was never really there for Scottie since he did not physically spend a lot of time with her. The other half of me sees he loves her and wanted what was best for her, which at the time often meant her staying with the Obers. Fitzgerald was an alcoholic and also a bit obsessed with work and money early on in his career.
Meanwhile, Scottie’s mother and Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, struggled immensely with her mental health and was often institutionalized. I do think that both of Scottie’s parents loved and cared for her, but they were simply not able to be there for her or give her the care she needed. That’s where the Obers came in.
I also did not realize how much work Fitzgerald did in Hollywood. I knew that many of his works were adapted for film, but I guess I never really realized the role that Fitzgerald played in making this happen. I also did not know he did a lot of screenwriting on his own and was especially surprised by his work with Gone With the Wind. Fitzgerald seemed to enjoy this kind of work, sometimes even more than he liked writing stories or novels. I think that Ober was in a hurry to get Fitzgerald back home and back to writing the stories and novels that made him famous, but I am not sure if that was the best decision. Sure, Fitzgerald was best known as a story writer and a novelist, and this was what people expected of him and what made him famous. Ober wanted to protect this image and Fitzgerald’s abilities to write for the magazines and publishers that made him famous. However, I think Fitzgerald was happier writing for Hollywood. I believe that this might have been part of what caused some issues between Ober and Fitzgerald later in life – I think it was about more than just the money issues.
Another unrelated point – as I was reading about Fitzgerald’s shift from a literary writer to a Hollywood writer, I kept hearing Salinger’s voice in the back of my head in the form of Holden Caulfield. I think Fitzgerald and Caulfield have pretty similar writing styles, and both wrote around the same periods (although Fitzgerald came first) and often for similar magazines – mainly including Collier’s. Everyone knows that Salinger hated Hollywood, as seen through the opinions voiced through his character, Holden Caulfield. In The Catcher in the Rye, Caulfield often talks about D.B. going to Hollywood and becoming a sellout. Could this have been a reference to Fitzgerald going to Hollywood?
I also never realized that Fitzgerald had a relationship with Sheila while still being married to Zelda. While I don’t support the idea of Fitzgerald cheating or being disloyal to Zelda, I don’t think this should be viewed as Fitzgerald having an affair. I think this is more along the lines of him not being able to be the proper husband to Zelda anymore. I think he always loved her, even as she was sick and institutionalized, and I believe that is made clear in the letters as he talks about her. However, he didn’t know how to help her, and he felt powerless. He was not able to be the husband that she needed. I think Sheila was almost his way of giving up. But when he refers to Sheila, it sounds all business – I don’t get the same sentiment when he references Sheila as I do when he talks about Zelda. I don’t think his love for Zelda is a match for his feelings for Sheila.
I enjoyed reading As Ever, Scott Fitz – and I feel that I learned a lot about Fitzgerald through this book. It was extremely well organized and put together, and I could tell that the editors put a lot of work into the research required for putting this book together. It was very well done—5 out of 5 Stars.
As Ever, Scott Fitz – is extremely well organized and includes letters from 1919 – Fitzgerald’s death in 1940. A majority of the letters are between Fitzgerald and Ober. Still, there is a handful from Harold Ober’s wife, Anne, and Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, and daughter, Scottie mixed in along with a handful of letters from other magazine editors and people that Fitzgerald interacted with. The editors of As, Ever – Scott Fitz also chose to include many wires sent between Fitzgerald and Ober, which at first I thought was a bad decision as I thought it would be boring to read about Fitzgerald’s requests for money and advances. Still, as I read through the book, I understood why the editors chose to include these, and I think it ties into the story nicely.
I don’t think people always consider collections of letters to tell a story, but that is exactly what the letters between Fitzgerald and Ober do. The letters and wires are separated into five sections: 1. Early Success (1919-1923), 2. Boom and Europe (1924-1929), 3. Depression (1929-1934), 4. Disaster (1935-1937), and 5. Hollywood (1937-1940). The letters offer a closer look at Fitzgerald and allow readers to get to know him on a more personal level that even the best biography (or even an autobiography, for that manner) would not have been able to offer. The readers can truly “hear” the conversations between Fitzgerald and Ober or, at times, his wife and daughter or others that make an appearance and celebrate his success, failures, and struggles alongside him.
One of the things I learned through reading these collections of letters was how loyal he was to Harold Ober, up until the end. Sure, some may argue against this point since he broke away from Ober in the end after he refused to advance him more money. However, I think that was mainly due to him being at the end of his life, slipping back into drinking, and struggling. I think Ober did not want to advance this money not only because he didn’t have it, but because he wanted to protect Fitzgerald and prevent him from succumbing to alcoholism again or falling greater into debt. Fitzgerald was an incredible writer, and Ober knew that even when his later works didn’t reflect that. Ober never gave up on him; rather, he pushed Fitzgerald to be the incredible writer he knew he was capable of being.
Fitzgerald had a strong sense of trust and love for Ober. I think that this is most clearly seen by the way he always had the Obers look out for Scottie and how many times it seemed like Ober was more of a father to Scottie than Fitzgerald himself. I am torn in what I feel about Fitzgerald as a father. Part of me wants to say he was never really there for Scottie since he did not physically spend a lot of time with her. The other half of me sees he loves her and wanted what was best for her, which at the time often meant her staying with the Obers. Fitzgerald was an alcoholic and also a bit obsessed with work and money early on in his career.
Meanwhile, Scottie’s mother and Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, struggled immensely with her mental health and was often institutionalized. I do think that both of Scottie’s parents loved and cared for her, but they were simply not able to be there for her or give her the care she needed. That’s where the Obers came in.
I also did not realize how much work Fitzgerald did in Hollywood. I knew that many of his works were adapted for film, but I guess I never really realized the role that Fitzgerald played in making this happen. I also did not know he did a lot of screenwriting on his own and was especially surprised by his work with Gone With the Wind. Fitzgerald seemed to enjoy this kind of work, sometimes even more than he liked writing stories or novels. I think that Ober was in a hurry to get Fitzgerald back home and back to writing the stories and novels that made him famous, but I am not sure if that was the best decision. Sure, Fitzgerald was best known as a story writer and a novelist, and this was what people expected of him and what made him famous. Ober wanted to protect this image and Fitzgerald’s abilities to write for the magazines and publishers that made him famous. However, I think Fitzgerald was happier writing for Hollywood. I believe that this might have been part of what caused some issues between Ober and Fitzgerald later in life – I think it was about more than just the money issues.
Another unrelated point – as I was reading about Fitzgerald’s shift from a literary writer to a Hollywood writer, I kept hearing Salinger’s voice in the back of my head in the form of Holden Caulfield. I think Fitzgerald and Caulfield have pretty similar writing styles, and both wrote around the same periods (although Fitzgerald came first) and often for similar magazines – mainly including Collier’s. Everyone knows that Salinger hated Hollywood, as seen through the opinions voiced through his character, Holden Caulfield. In The Catcher in the Rye, Caulfield often talks about D.B. going to Hollywood and becoming a sellout. Could this have been a reference to Fitzgerald going to Hollywood?
I also never realized that Fitzgerald had a relationship with Sheila while still being married to Zelda. While I don’t support the idea of Fitzgerald cheating or being disloyal to Zelda, I don’t think this should be viewed as Fitzgerald having an affair. I think this is more along the lines of him not being able to be the proper husband to Zelda anymore. I think he always loved her, even as she was sick and institutionalized, and I believe that is made clear in the letters as he talks about her. However, he didn’t know how to help her, and he felt powerless. He was not able to be the husband that she needed. I think Sheila was almost his way of giving up. But when he refers to Sheila, it sounds all business – I don’t get the same sentiment when he references Sheila as I do when he talks about Zelda. I don’t think his love for Zelda is a match for his feelings for Sheila.
I enjoyed reading As Ever, Scott Fitz – and I feel that I learned a lot about Fitzgerald through this book. It was extremely well organized and put together, and I could tell that the editors put a lot of work into the research required for putting this book together. It was very well done—5 out of 5 Stars.
December 11, 2016
Harold Ober was Fitzgerald's literary agent for most of his career. This is an interesting glimpse into their relationship, and how shopping stories about worked in those times. Honestly, it's amazing that Mr. Ober put up with Fitzgerald's money-grubbing ways for so long - infinite patience and professionalism, that man.
January 25, 2012
The book illuminated the relationship between F. Scott and his agent, allowing insight to the literary process during the 20th century.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews