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    F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Paris Years
    F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Paris Years
    F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Paris Years
    Ebook63 pages52 minutes

    F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Paris Years

    By Paul Brody

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    Paris was a Mecca for artists in the early 20th century. Anyone who wrote, sculpted, acted, drew, painted, composed, or philosophized was drawn to the bustling, European city. World War I was over, and the future, which had been so uncertain for Europe, now seemed bright.

    For nearly a decade, F. Scott Fitzgerald lived and wrote in the City of Lights. This is the story of those productive years in Paris, France.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookCaps
    Release dateJun 19, 2014
    ISBN9781310688393
    F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Paris Years

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      Book preview

      F. Scott Fitzgerald - Paul Brody

      LifeCaps Presents:

      F. Scott Fitzgerald

      The Paris Years

      By Paul Brody

      © 2011 by Golgotha Press, Inc./LifeCaps

      Published at SmashWords

      www.bookcaps.com

      About LifeCaps

      LifeCaps is an imprint of BookCaps™ Study Guides. With each book, a lesser known or sometimes forgotten life is is recapped. We publish a wide array of topics (from baseball and music to literature and philosophy), so check our growing catalogue regularly (www.bookcaps.com) to see our newest books.

      Introduction

      F. Scott Fitzgerald is indisputably one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. Considering the renaissance of writing that occurred during, and after, World War II, this is high praise. What makes this estimation of Fitzgerald’s importance even more astonishing, however, is the fact that he only published four books in his lifetime. The bulk of his output as a writer takes the form of short stories. Considering that the short story has fallen from favor with the American reading public, it takes a bit more exploration to understand Fitzgerald’s current appeal. How does one become such a highly regarded author with just a few short novels? It can only happen in a rare set of circumstances. That writer must come to define an Age.

      Much like J. D. Salinger, who rocketed to fame with The Catcher in the Rye, due to its appeal with a disaffected generation, Fitzgerald’s most read novel illustrates his greatest talent. The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, has become a historical standard. Although it is now Fitzgerald’s most popular work, required reading in nearly every American high school, The Great Gatsby was only moderately successful during Fitzgerald’s life. It took his death to elevate the novel into the lofty regions of literature. In retrospect, the novel defined the Jazz Age, a term that Fitzgerald coined. Shortly after its first publication, Gatsby became the manifesto of the Flappers: rebellious young women who eschewed polite society for youth and freedom. As such, the book became a scintillating view into the era known as the Roaring Twenties.

      That era, spanning only a decade, was a golden time for humanity. From the year 1920, until the Great Depression in 1930, the world experienced a soaring economic bounty. The Great War, now known as World War I, had ended, and hope blossomed across the globe. Art, culture, and music were free to thrive again, and each had a renaissance of sorts. Young people, free from the fears of war, were able to explore their youth with a vibrancy that had long been suppressed. Often, this exploration was colored by naïveté and a reckless abandon.

      Fitzgerald’s early career was defined by enormous excess. Fitzgerald was an expert on this theme, and he was known as a pioneering literary explorer of America’s idolatry of wealth, and its pursuit of glory. During his youth, he used the wealth that his first novel brought him to embark upon a grand adventure. He took with him his young, pretty wife. The chaotic couple took Paris, France, by storm. It was the Roaring Twenties, after all, and a wealthy man could find a number of ways to be entertained, and spend his wealth. Whether it was the grandest of parties, on the river Seine, or a stroll through the book stalls on the famous avenue, the Champs-Élysées, an artist could find any number of ways to feed his artistic hunger. It was in France that Fitzgerald met Ernest Hemingway, and created one of the most famous literary friendships of all time.

      Paris was a mecca for artists in the early 20th century. Anyone who wrote, sculpted, acted, drew, painted, composed, or philosophized was drawn to the bustling, European city. World War I was over, and the future, which had been so uncertain for Europe, now seemed bright. Many of the last century’s greatest artists thrived during that rare and precious window in time: between two devastating wars.

      Those artists who lived, worked, and traveled during this decade were later termed the Lost Generation. This generation includes writers like Ernest Hemingway and T. S. Eliot, and great dancers, like Isadora Duncan. Scott Fitzgerald found his name written in the rolls of this generation as well. In such a rare mix of circumstances, greatness can emerge.

      Part 1: Fitzgerald’s Early Life

      Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. His father, Edward, took great pride in his own heritage, and named his son after their family ancestor, Francis Scott Key, the writer of the American national anthem. Fitzgerald’s mother, Mary, was a wealthy Irish Catholic, and she was profoundly proud of her

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