F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) was an American novelist and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the greatest voices of the Jazz Age. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, he attended Princeton University but left before graduating to join the Army during World War I. His first novel, This Side of Paradise (1920), brought him instant fame and established him as the chronicler of a new, modern generation. Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda became icons of the 1920s, embodying both the glamour and recklessness of the era.

Fitzgerald wrote his most celebrated work, The Great Gatsby (1925), while living in France. The novel, set in Long Island during the Roaring Twenties, explored themes of wealth, desire, illusion, and the corruption of the American Dream. Initially, the book received modest sales and mixed reviews. Disheartened, he continued to struggle financially, writing short stories for magazines to support his family. In later years, Fitzgerald worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter.

He died in 1940, believing himself a failure, but The Great Gatsby has since become a cornerstone of American literature and is now recognized as his masterpiece.