Fitzgerald's masterpiece, The Great Gatsby (1925), is a penetrating critique of the American Dream, exploring themes of wealth, love, and moral decay through the tragic figure of Jay Gatsby. His other major novels include The Beautiful and Damned (1922) and Tender Is the Night (1934), while his short stories—such as "Babylon Revisited" and "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz"—display his lyrical prose and social insight. Struggling with alcoholism and Zelda's mental illness, Fitzgerald died of a heart attack in 1940 at age forty-four, leaving his final novel, The Last Tycoon, unfinished. His reputation, once diminished, now rests securely among America's most celebrated literary figures.
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) was an American novelist and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century and the leading voice of the Jazz Age. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, he attended Princeton University but left before graduating to pursue writing and eventually join the army. In 1920, the publication of his first novel, This Side of Paradise, brought him instant fame, and he married Zelda Sayre a week later. Their glamorous yet turbulent life became emblematic of the roaring 1920s.