Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

Last updated

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
Z - A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald.jpg
Front cover
Author Therese Fowler
Genre Biographical novel
Publisher St. Martin's Press
Publication date
11 April 2013
Pages375
ISBN 978-1-250-02865-5

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald is a 2013 biographical novel by Therese Fowler about Zelda Fitzgerald. It follows her through her marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald, the pair's writing careers, their relationship to Ernest Hemingway, the upbringing of their daughter Frances Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda's declining mental health and death. It was adapted into a television series, Z: The Beginning of Everything , which aired in 2017 after a 2015 pilot episode.

Contents

Background

The book describes the life of Zelda Fitzgerald, an American socialite who became a symbol of the Jazz Age. She married the author F. Scott Fitzgerald, who later wrote The Great Gatsby (1925). [1] While researching Zelda Fitzgerald, the author Therese Fowler found that her perceptions of the figure were misrepresentations, and she became inspired to "set the record straight" in popular culture. [2] Z received a first printing run of 150,000 copies, and was published by St. Martin's Press in the United States and John Murray in the United Kingdom. [3] [4] [5]

Synopsis

Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald circa 1919 Retouched.jpg
Zelda Fitzgerald

The book is a fictionalized account of Zelda Fitzgerald's life. In her early life in Montgomery, Alabama, Fitzgerald is portrayed as the subject of desire by many men. Her future husband F. Scott Fitzgerald—stationed in Montgomery as a World War I soldier—asks her out, but Zelda's father is disapproving and Scott is initially unsuccessful in his writing. He achieves fame with This Side of Paradise (1920), following which the couple began to attend increasingly raucous parties. [6] [3] The novel gives focus to the relationship between Ernest Hemingway and Scott, and how Hemingway disliked Zelda. [7] After the couple's daughter Frances Scott Fitzgerald is born, it shows Zelda publishing short stories under Scott's name, and studying art and ballet. [6] The book covers the mental illnesses of Zelda in later life, and her death in a sanatorium fire. [7]

Reception

In The New York Times , Penelope Green characterized it as "a rather tame affair, dutiful but somehow distant, as is sometimes the case when one's material is so well-known", and commented that Zelda is portrayed as "a perky helpmeet to her husband". [7] In a mixed review, The Independent 's Lesley McDowell found the book to decline in quality in coverage of Fitzgerald's later life, praising that it "makes excellent use of Zelda's biographical details, and pays close attention to the different arguments about Zelda's life with Scott", but criticizing an absence of the "trickier psychological aspects" of Fitzgerald. [6]

Endorsing the book as a Publishers Weekly pick, the magazine praised the research behind the novel and described it as "a close study of [the Fitzgeralds's] famously tumultuous relationship, sparing no detail by following the Fitzgeralds through the less glamorous parts of their lives and the more obscure moments of history". However, they suggested that Fitzgerald is portrayed as "softer" and "more anxious" than other parts of her history indicate. [3] A review in USA Today lauded the book as "a parallel picture of not just a pioneering woman but a groundbreaking era", praising the research as thorough. It highlighted the description of the history around The Great Gatsby as "fascinating", but criticized that the "expository prose is less than zingy". [1]

Television adaptation

The book was adapted into an Amazon Studios television series, Z: The Beginning of Everything , with the pilot released on November 5, 2015, and the remaining nine episodes debuting on January 27, 2017. [8] The series was renewed for a second season but later cancelled. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Great Gatsby</i> 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zelda Fitzgerald</span> American writer (1900–1948)

Zelda Fitzgerald was an American novelist, painter, playwright, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, to a wealthy Southern family, she became locally famous for her beauty and high spirits. In 1920, she married writer F. Scott Fitzgerald after the popular success of his debut novel, This Side of Paradise. The novel catapulted the young couple into the public eye, and she became known in the national press as the first American flapper. Due to their wild antics and incessant partying, she and her husband became regarded in the newspapers as the enfants terribles of the Jazz Age. Alleged infidelity and bitter recriminations soon undermined their marriage. After traveling abroad to Europe, Zelda's mental health deteriorated, and she had suicidal and homicidal tendencies which required psychiatric care. Her doctors diagnosed Zelda with schizophrenia, although later posthumous diagnoses posit bipolar disorder.

Matthew Joseph Bruccoli was an American professor of English at the University of South Carolina. He was the preeminent expert on F. Scott Fitzgerald. He also wrote about other writers, notably Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe and John O'Hara, and was editor of the Dictionary of Literary Biography.

<i>Save Me the Waltz</i> 1932 novel by Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald

Save Me the Waltz is a 1932 novel by American writer Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald. It is a semi-autobiographical account of her early life in the American South during the Jim Crow era and her tempestuous marriage to novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. She composed the work while a patient at Johns Hopkins Hospital's Phipps Clinic in Baltimore, Maryland. As part of her recovery routine, she spent at least two hours a day writing a novel. She sent the manuscript to her husband's editor, Maxwell Perkins. Although unimpressed by the manuscript, Perkins published the work in order for Fitzgerald to repay his financial debt to his publisher Scribner's.

<i>This Side of Paradise</i> 1920 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This Side of Paradise is the debut novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1920. It examines the lives and morality of carefree American youth at the dawn of the Jazz Age. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is an attractive middle-class student at Princeton University who dabbles in literature and engages in a series of romances with flappers. The novel explores the theme of love warped by greed and status-seeking, and takes its title from a line of Rupert Brooke's poem Tiare Tahiti.

<i>Tender Is the Night</i> 1934 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tender Is the Night is the fourth and final novel completed by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in French Riviera during the twilight of the Jazz Age, the 1934 novel chronicles the rise and fall of Dick Diver, a promising young psychiatrist, and his wife, Nicole, who is one of his patients. The story mirrors events in the lives of the author and his wife Zelda Fitzgerald as Dick starts his descent into alcoholism and Nicole descends into mental illness.

<i>The Beautiful and Damned</i> 1922 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Beautiful and Damned is a 1922 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in New York City, the novel's plot follows a young artist Anthony Patch and his flapper wife Gloria Gilbert who become "wrecked on the shoals of dissipation" while excessively partying at the dawn of the hedonistic Jazz Age. As Fitzgerald's second novel, the work focuses upon the swinish behavior and glittering excesses of the American social elite in the heyday of New York's café society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Gatsby</span> Character in the novel The Great Gatsby

Jay Gatsby is the titular fictional character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. The character is an enigmatic nouveau riche millionaire who lives in a luxurious mansion on Long Island where he often hosts extravagant parties and who allegedly gained his fortune by illicit bootlegging during prohibition in the United States. Fitzgerald based many details about the fictional character on Max Gerlach, a mysterious neighbor and World War I veteran whom the author met while living in New York City during the raucous Jazz Age. Like Gatsby, Gerlach threw lavish parties, never wore the same shirt twice, used the phrase "old sport", claimed to be educated at Oxford University, and fostered myths about himself, including that he was a relation of the German Kaiser.

<i>The Great Gatsby</i> (1926 film) 1926 film directed by Herbert Brenon

The Great Gatsby is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Herbert Brenon. It was the first film adaptation of the 1925 novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Warner Baxter portrayed Jay Gatsby and Lois Wilson portrayed Daisy Buchanan. The film was produced by Famous Players–Lasky, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The Great Gatsby is now considered lost. A vintage movie trailer displaying short clips of the film still exists.

<i>The Great Gatsby</i> (2000 film) 2000 television film by Robert Markowitz

The Great Gatsby is a 2000 British-American romantic drama television film, based on the 1925 novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was directed by Robert Markowitz, written by John J. McLaughlin, and stars Toby Stephens in the title role of Jay Gatsby, Mira Sorvino as Daisy Buchanan, Paul Rudd as Nick Carraway, Martin Donovan as Tom Buchanan, Francie Swift as Jordan Baker, Heather Goldenhersh as Myrtle Wilson, and Matt Malloy as Klipspringer. The film aired on March 29, 2000 in the United Kingdom on BBC, and on January 14, 2001 in the United States on A&E.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Witchy Woman</span> 1972 single by Eagles

"Witchy Woman" is a song written by Don Henley and Bernie Leadon, and recorded by the American rock band Eagles. Released as the second single from the band's debut album Eagles, it reached No. 9 on the Billboard pop singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daisy Buchanan</span> Character in The Great Gatsby

Daisy Fay Buchanan is a fictional character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. The character is a wealthy socialite from Louisville, Kentucky who resides in the fashionable town of East Egg on Long Island during the Jazz Age. She is narrator Nick Carraway's second cousin, once removed, and the wife of polo player Tom Buchanan, with whom she has a daughter. Before marrying Tom, Daisy had a romantic relationship with Jay Gatsby. Her choice between Gatsby and Tom is one of the novel's central conflicts. Described by Fitzgerald as a "golden girl", she is the target of both Tom's callous domination and Gatsby's dehumanizing adoration. The ensuing contest of wills between Tom and Gatsby reduces Daisy to a trophy wife whose sole existence is to augment her possessor's socioeconomic success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Carraway</span> Fictional character in the novel The Great Gatsby

Nick Carraway is a fictional character and narrator in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. The character is a Yale University alumnus from the American Midwest, a World War I veteran, and a newly arrived resident of West Egg on Long Island, near New York City. He is a bond salesman and the neighbor of enigmatic millionaire Jay Gatsby. He facilitates a sexual affair between Gatsby and his second cousin, once removed, Daisy Buchanan which becomes one of the novel's central conflicts. Carraway is easy-going and optimistic, although this latter quality fades as the novel progresses. After witnessing the callous indifference and hedonism of the idle rich during the riotous Jazz Age, he ultimately chooses to leave the eastern United States forever and returns to the Midwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">F. Scott Fitzgerald</span> American writer (1896–1940)

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularized in his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. Although he achieved temporary popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald received critical acclaim only after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ginevra King</span> American socialite and heiress (1898–1980)

Ginevra King Pirie was an American socialite and heiress. As one of Chicago's "Big Four" debutantes during World War I, she inspired many characters in the novels and stories of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald; in particular, the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby. A 16-year-old King met an 18-year-old Fitzgerald at a sledding party in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and they shared a passionate romance from 1915 to 1917.

<i>The Great Gatsby</i> (2013 film) Film by Baz Luhrmann

The Great Gatsby is a 2013 historical romantic drama film based on the 1925 novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film was co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann and stars an ensemble cast consisting of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke Amitabh Bachchan, and Elizabeth Debicki. Jay-Z served as executive producer. Filming took place from September to December 2011 in Australia, with a $105 million net production budget. The film follows the life and times of millionaire Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio) and his neighbor Nick Carraway (Maguire) who recounts his interactions with Gatsby amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age on Long Island in New York.

Therese Anne Fowler is a contemporary American author. She is best known for Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, published in 2013. The work has been adapted for television by Killer Films and Amazon Studios, with Christina Ricci and David Hoflin in the roles of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The series, titled Z: The Beginning of Everything, was released on January 27, 2017.

<i>Z: The Beginning of Everything</i> American period drama television series

Z: The Beginning of Everything is an American period drama television series created by Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin for Amazon Studios that debuted on November 5, 2015. It is based on Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler. The series presents a fictionalized version of the life of American socialite and writer Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald in the 1920s. The first season covers her marriage to the author F. Scott Fitzgerald – who had yet to become famous for his work – and the subsequent marital tensions that arose from their lifestyle full of partying and alcohol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neasa Hardiman</span>

Neasa Hardiman is an Irish director of both fiction and nonfiction, predominantly known for her television work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adaptations and portrayals of F. Scott Fitzgerald</span>

F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American writer known for his novels and short stories which often celebrated the decadence and excess of the Jazz Age. Many of his literary works were adapted into cinematic films, television episodes, and theatrical productions. Although a number of his works were adapted during his lifetime, the number of adaptations greatly increased following his death, and several cinematic adaptations gained considerable critical acclaim.

References

  1. 1 2 "'Z': A red-letter homage to Zelda Fitzgerald". USA Today . 12 July 2013. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  2. "'Z' Tells The Fitzgeralds' Story From Zelda's Point Of View". NPR . 23 March 2013. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald". Publishers Weekly . Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  4. Fowler, Therese (5 February 2013). "Excerpt: 'Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald' by Therese Anne Fowler". USA Today . Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  5. "Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (Paperback)". Waterstones. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 McDowell, Lesley (13 April 2013). "Review: Z - A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, By Therese Anne Fowler" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 Green, Penelope (19 April 2013). "Beautiful and Damned". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  8. Patten, Dominic (7 December 2016). "'Z: The Beginning Of Everything': Amazon Drama Gets Debut Date & Jazz Age Trailer". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  9. Goldberg, Lesley (7 September 2017). "Amazon Axes Zelda Fitzgerald Series Months After Surprise Renewal (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.