?? Who was F. Scott Fitzgerald ??

A photo of Fitzgerald taken at Princeton

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in 1896, in St. Paul, Michigan.  As a teenager, he attended the Newman School in New Jersey, a selective and demanding institution that nurtured his enthusiasm for writing.  He went on to college at Princeton, where he decided to pursue writing as his future career.  During college, he wrote short stories for newspapers like the Princeton Tiger and the Nassau Literary Magazine.  After serving in the military, Fitzgerald finally settled down back in St. Paul and began his writing career in earnest.  He published his first novel, This Side of Paradise, and, enabled by the money brought in by book sales, married and started a family.  However, Fitzgerald didn't really know how to handle his new-found wealth, and spent most of it on parties, bars, and extravagant events.  He lost his respectable reputation as people saw him wasting his money and living wildly.  However, he was able to collect himself enough to write many more acclaimed short stories and several novels, including The Beautiful and Damned (1922), The Great Gatsby (1925), and Tender Is the Night (1934).  He died at age 44, in poor health after a lifetime of heavy drinking.  However, his legacy remains that of a brilliant writer, albeit one who just didn't know how to handle his success.