Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, F. Scott Fitzgerald attended Princeton University, where he formed key literary friendships but ultimately dropped out to join the Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, who initially rejected his marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects. However, the commercial success of his debut novel, This Side of Paradise (1920), secured both his financial standing and Zelda's hand in marriage, launching him into the cultural spotlight.
During the 1920s, Fitzgerald became synonymous with the "Jazz Age," a term he popularized. He and Zelda lived an affluent, flamboyant lifestyle, which he funded by writing numerous short stories for popular magazines. His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), further elevated his status. While living in Europe as part of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, he befriended writers like Ernest Hemingway and published his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby (1925). Though now regarded as one of the greatest American novels, it was a commercial disappointment during his lifetime.
Fitzgerald's later years were marked by personal and financial struggles. His wife's mental health deteriorated, leading to her institutionalization, which heavily influenced his fourth novel, Tender Is the Night (1934). Facing financial difficulties during the Great Depression, he moved to Hollywood to work as a screenwriter. Throughout his life, Fitzgerald battled severe alcoholism, ultimately dying of a heart attack in 1940 at the age of 44. His unfinished final novel, The Last Tycoon, was published posthumously in 1941.
