5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of those ubiquitous American authors that gets pushed into the hands of every high school student. His books are consistently made into movies, television series, and even Broadway shows.
His first novel, This Side of Paradise was a runaway best seller. The Great Gatsby, though initially much less successful, is considered by many as the quintessential American novel. It defined the Jazz Age, the flapper, and examined the complicated relationship we have with deeply desiring wealth but simultaneously hating the wealthy.
In many ways, it feels like we know all there is to know about the author - especially if you live near his hometown of Saint Paul, Minnesota. His name is referenced often, his birthplace is a landmark, and a statue of him stands in the center of downtown. But, there are still some fascinating facts that you many not know:
ONE
Born in 1896, the author’s full name was Frances Scott Key Fitzgerald. He was named after a very distant and long dead cousin on his father’s side of the family.
Francis Scott Key famously wrote the lyrics for the Star Spangled Banner, but at the time of Fitzgerald’s birth it still wasn’t officially the national anthem. That wouldn’t happen until 1931.
TWO
Fitzgerald started writing and performing in plays while he was a student at the Summit Academy. This continued when he went off to Princeton. Since it was an all boys school at the time, he would often perform in drag. He was extremely convincing and he would also attend fraternity parties at the University of Minnesota in drag and flirt with boys to see how long he could get away with it.
THREE
In the 1930s, desperate for any income, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood and took odd jobs as a screenwriter. Sometimes he was credited, like on “A Yank at Oxford” and “The Women”. Sometimes he wasn’t, like when he was hired to help polish the script for “Gone with the Wind” and “A Star is Born”.
FOUR
Although most of us know him as the author of The Great Gatsby (and it was published 100 years ago this year), he barely made any money from it. Or his other books, for that matter. He made more money by selling the movie rights to his books and more than half of his lifetime income came from his short stories that he sold to magazines.
No matter how much he was paid he was always broke, consistently blowing through his money on his lavish lifestyle and especially on alcohol. He even wrote stories about that - to make money to pay off his debts.
One of his stories recounted how he and Zelda blew through $36,000 in one year (about $700,000 at the time) and had absolutely nothing left to show for it.
FIVE
Fitzgerald’s father, Edward, was a failure at business and the family lived mainly on money provided by Fitzgerald’s mother’s (Mollie McQuillan’s) side of the family.
The McQuillans were very well-known in Saint Paul. Phillip McQuillan made his fortune in wholesale groceries during the Civil War. Philip’s nephews (so, Fitzgerald’s cousins) founded the McQuillan Brothers plumbing company in 1883. The company still operates today and is in its fifth generation of McQuillan ownership.
LOVE HIM OR HATE HIM?
I know it’s sacrilege for a Minnesota history lover to say, but I’m not a fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Although I think his subjects and stories are engaging and have a lot to say about American culture, I don’t like his style of writing. I also think he was selfish, shortsighted, cruel, and thoughtless. He was insecure and jealous and took it out on everyone around him. Still, he held the attention of the readers and defined a time in American history. He was fascinating in his own way.
What are your thoughts or opinions about F. Scott Fitzgerald, his writings or his life?
