Zelda Fitzgerald's Alabama roots

Best known as an iconic flapper and wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda Sayre began her life as an Alabama socialite.

In this interview clip, experts discuss Zelda's youth in Alabama and her transition into an international celebrity.

To learn more about Zelda's wide-ranging artistic talents and where they can still be seen in Alabama, visit 800alabama.com/yoa

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Zelda
• Sayre
• Fitzgerald
• Scott
• Alabama
• arts
• dance
• painting
• writing
• flapper

[xoxAtTheTwilightxox]

By all accounts Zelda was a local celebrity in her own right when she married Fitzgerald. She was a renowned beauty and even Scott was in awe of her. However after their marriage his celbrity staus began to rise as hers began to dwindle. She became the wife of a celebrity rather than the celbrity in her own right.. She took this as an insult and tried to claim the spotlight for her own talents. She had many talents but was to restless to follow through on any of them.

[marmas58ink]

Reminds me of the distinction F made between a personality & a personage. Seems Z was the 1st, part of what he loved, her daring etc,& what others found attractive. Hemingway in the mid-20s said she was trying to ruin him. Her ballet dancing: was it to find herself, prove herself away from his indiscrete fictionizing , 'plagiarism starts at home', or more purely competition? 0:57 implies he half invented HER. An ad-man for a short while. Dance became obsession. Once again to Z.(bygone eras all.)

[MrTennessy]

I like it!

[vgoth100]

@comicbookandme My eyes were opened wide after reading Nancy Milford....I never realized how much Scott took from her. Granted Zelda was truly ill and perhaps too materialistic, but I think Scott is as much to blame as Zelda for their rocky road. I gained so much more respect for Zelda after reading that bio...good recommendation for people who might say Zelda was keeping Scott back from his work. Always good to consider both sides....

[comicbookandme]

Hope the play goes well!

[quegan2010]

I am doing a piece called the last flapper, its a one woman play about zelda and it is centered around how she stole her work. its good to know that there are books and evidence of this.

[comicbookandme]

Have you taken a look at the books I mentioned? I would say he was a better writer after getting involved with her, but most writers get better with age. Plagiarizing helps, too. Don't get me wrong, he was obviously very good, just take a look at The Crack-Up, but it's unfair to dismiss Zelda as a jealous wife; she was a very talented writer, dancer and painter and, because the circumstances, his fame, being Southern, a woman, a wife, mentally unstable at best, she's never gotten her fair shake.

[bookkeeper57]

I know they had this kind of competitive relationship. Thanks for mentioning the bio. Was Scott a better writer before or after he met his wife?

[comicbookandme]

You are poorly informed; consider reading, amongst other books, the biography Zelda by Nancy Mitford. Scott plagiarized passaged from her letters and journals verbatim (see The Collected Writings of Zelda Fitzgerald and compare with Tender Is The Night) and attempted to prevent her from publishing her own novel.