Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (born September 24 1896 – died December 21 1940) was an American novelist and short-story writer. He is widely identified with the Jazz Age, a period of cultural change in the United States, and is best known for the novel The Great Gatsby, which has become central to discussions of the American Dream and social class. Fitzgerald is also commonly grouped with the writers of the Lost Generation.
Life and career
Fitzgerald grew up in the American Midwest, attended preparatory school and later Princeton University, and briefly served in the U.S. Army during World War I. He published his first novel, This Side of Paradise, to immediate success and entered public life as a prominent young literary figure. His marriage to Zelda Sayre and their social life in the 1920s informed much of his work.
Major works and themes
Fitzgerald's fiction often examines wealth, ambition, romantic aspiration, and moral decline. Besides The Great Gatsby (1925), notable novels include The Beautiful and Damned and Tender Is the Night. His short stories, many published in magazines of the era, display keen social observation and a lyrical prose style.
Later years and legacy
In later life Fitzgerald struggled with financial difficulties, health issues and alcoholism, and worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter. Critical appreciation for his work grew after his death, with The Great Gatsby often regarded as a masterpiece of American literature and a standard text in literary studies.
Selected works
- This Side of Paradise
- The Beautiful and Damned
- The Great Gatsby
- Tender Is the Night
Readers and scholars continue to study Fitzgerald for his evocative portrayal of an era and for themes that remain relevant: desire, identity, and the costs of pursuing an idealized life.