F. Scott Fitzgerald: Letters and essays

Fitzgerald lived in an age when, despite the existence of the telephone system, hand-writing letters was still commonplace, so that he left behind an abundance of exchanges between himself and his wife, his editor, his literary agent and his friends that were published in a number of different collections after his death in 1940.

Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda Edited by Jackson R. Bryer and Cathy W. Barks

Despite his alcoholism and her mental illness, his career highs (and lows) and her institutional confinement, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald's devotion to each other lasted for more than twenty-two years. It is well documented in the 333 letters - three-quarters of them previously unpublished or out of print - collected here. Edited by the noted Fitzgerald scholars, Jackson R. Bryer and Cathy W. Barks, they are illustrated with a selection of familiar and unpublished photographs.

The Crack-Up Edited by Edmund Wilson

The Crack-Up is a collection of essays that Fitzgerald published as he reached his nadir: His latest novel Tender is the Night had been a critical and financial failure, his wife had been institutionalized and the magazine short story market had dried up: "...until you realize with finality that in some regard you will never be as good a man again."

A Short Autobiography Edited by James L. W. West III

Fitzgerald never worked on an autobiography, but throughout his life - from the start of his career in 1920 until shortly before his death in 1940 - he published several magazine articles and essays that reflected upon his personal life. The collection 'A Short Autobiography' arranges those texts in chronological order so that they trace the arc from the infectious self-assuredness of the successful young author (who never fails to regard himself with a sense of irony, though) to the somber reflections of a man who has outlived his prime - with the eponymous short piece 'A Short Autobiography' as the tipping point: it's nothing more than a list of different drinks consumed in different locations over the years. That literary prank aside, all of Fitzgerald's different attempts at self-portrayal are as enjoyable to read today as they presumably were to the magazine audiences of the 1920s and 1930s. While his exploration of the process of writing in 'One Hundred False Starts' may be the most elegant, most insightful text in the collection, the early accounts of Scott's marriage to Zelda in essays such as 'How to Live on $36,000 a Year' are probably the most enjoyable. It's inspiring how he presents their interaction, how he showcases them as a good team that enjoys strong camaraderie rather than as the epitome of romantic love. Perhaps he had already guessed that ultimately it would be loyalty and respect that, in its own strange way, would make their relationship last.

A Life in Letters: A New Collection Edited and Annotated by Matthew J. Bruccoli

This correspondence - edited by eminent Fitzgerald scholar Bruccoli - offers an accessible self-portrait of the writer. Early letters to his editor, Maxwell Perkins, and friends, Edmund Wilson and Ernest Hemingway, document Fitzgerald's devotion to craft, exemplified by The Great Gatsby, as well as the novelist's ever-present financial problems.

Dear Scott/Dear Max: The Fitzgerald-Perkins Correspondence Edited by Jackson R. Bryer

Maxwell Perkins was a well-known editor at literary institution Scribner's. He was Fitzgerald's editor, mentor and creditor. Their correspondence offers not only a lot of literary gossip, but also rare insights into Fitzgerald's devotion to his craft.

As Ever, Scott Fitz- Edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli

A collection of letters between Fitzgerald and his literary agent Harold Ober. Their correspondence ranges from 1919 to 1940.