interview--William Hazelgrove on How Fitzgerald wrote ”The Great Gastsby”

F. Scott Fitzgerald and his young wife Zelda rode the wave of a new era in American culture: the rise of Youth Culture and Celebrity as the Roaring Twenties began. They became the face of the era and suffered deeply by embodying its excesses. Fitzgerald turned all their relational ups and downs into short stories, novellas and his books. Sadly, his most intensely personal book was a terrible flop when it was released, and for years afterward the author was haunted by its failure. It cost him his marriage, his attempt at sobriety and he died young broken-hearted. But the story of his masterpiece was not over: during WWII millions of copies were sent to GIs and finally it was recognized for its insight into an era.