The Author Francis Scott Fitzgerald LIFE Francis Scott Fitzgerald was born into a rich family in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24th, 1896: his father was a Southern gentleman, while his mother was the daughter of an Irish salesman who became wealthy in America. Unlike other rich families who were generally Protestants, both of his parents were Catholics. He attended the Newman School, a prestigious Catholic prep school1 in New Jersey. There, he met a teacher who supported and encouraged his passion for writing, and, at 13 years old, he published his first story in the school newspaper. In 1913, he was accepted at Princeton University; however, whereas his interest in literature and writing grew fonder and fonder, his academic performance was poor, and he did not graduate. He therefore joined the US Army in 1917 during World War I. While living in Alabama as a lieutenant2, Fitzgerald fell in love with Zelda Sayre, the daughter of a Supreme Court judge. After the war, he tried to seek his fortune in New York City working in advertising and writing his works, but Zelda cancelled their engagement3 because she could not accept a marriage without money. In 1920, his first novel, This Side of Paradise, was published and became a best-seller, making him rich and famous, so, that same year, he married Zelda. They had a daughter the year after. The couple became a living icon of the Jazz Age, where all that was valued was youth, freedom, and the pursuit of pleasure and luxury. They often traveled between America and Europe and met other literary figures such as Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein in Paris. Between 1922 and 1925, Francis wrote The Beautiful and Damned (1922), Tales of the Jazz Age (1922), and The Great Gatsby (1925), novels which well described both the great enthusiasm and the dangerous delusion4 of the American Dream. 1. prep school: a school, usually private, that prepares students for college. 2. lieutenant: an officer of middle rank in the army. 3. engagement: an arrangement to marry somebody. 4. delusion: a false belief or opinion about something. 4