I read The Great Gatsby when I was at school but I didn’t know anything about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life, so when I was browsing in the library and I came across this book which was written by his wife, I was drawn by the blurb to borrow it: One of the great literary curios of the twentieth century, Save Me the Waltz is the only novel by the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. During the years when Fitzgerald was working on Tender is the Night, which many critics consider to be his masterpiece, Zelda Fitzgerald was preparing her own story, which strangely parallels the narrative of her husband, throwing a fascinating light on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life and work.
This book did not get good reviews when it was published and Zelda wrote no more books, mind you she might not have had anything else to write about because this is really an account of her life with Fitzgerald, completely autobiographical, which must have come in handy for any Fitzgerald scholars, it’ll have thrown some light onto their movements.
Zelda was a glamorous flapper with a huge capacity for alcohol, as everyone seemed to have in those days of prohibition in the US. She had a penchant for taking her clothes off at parties, dancing naked on the tables and such but she also had a brain and I found her to be likeable. Fitzgerald was obviously besotted by Zelda and their was never any question of him divorcing her, but the poor soul had many demons and was probably what would be described as bi-polar nowadays.
Anyway, to the book. The main character, Alabama Beggs(Zelda) is the youngest of a family of daughters, born in the deep south, and she’s the wildest of them. Early on in the book Alabama gets married to David Knight, a successful young artist and they move to the Riviera where they are feted as a famous and glamorous couple. David spends all of his spare time with a fashionable but vacuous set of people who are basically hangers-on and Alabama seems to be sidelined. They are both tempted to dally with people who give them more attention than they have been getting from each other.
She decides that she needs to do something for herself and takes up ballet dancing again, determined to make a success of it, despite the fact that she hasn’t done ballet for years. With hard work she manages to get a job in a production of Faustus, but meantime David is furious at what he sees as her neglect of him and their small daughter, in the pursuit of a career for herself.
I must admit that I had some sympathy with David/Scott Fitzgerald as I did feel that the ballet classes were a bit too much of the book, but I enjoyed it and I intend to read Tender Is the Night now as both books were being written around the same time, although this one was published two years earlier.
Apparently Fitzgerald was not amused when he read this book as he realised that it was giving away so much of their private lives. That’s a bit of a cheek when you consider that he had been using Zelda for years in his books and short stories, he even used chunks from letters which she had written in his books, and Zelda hadn’t complained about that!
I also went on to read a book called Careless People by Sarah Churchwell which was published in 2012, which is well worth reading if you’re at all interested in the Fitzgeralds and that period of American history.
Katrina,
Fascinating topic–It’s interesting; many American literary experts consider The Great Gatsby to be his best work, and point to the failings in Tender is the Night. And some go the other way. Tender is the Night has been vastly criticized for being too sprawling, lacking a tight plot, and inconsistency in presentation of theme.
Fitzgerald himself held tenaciously to his belief that Tender is the Night was his best work, and he would bear no criticism of it, not from anyone. During the writing of Tender is the Night, he lost control of his alcohol use completely, according to his biographers.
I can’t stop thinking about Ernest Hemingway’s alleged comment to Fitzgerald following the publication of Tender is the Night. “You can’t seem to write about anything but you and Zelda.” And allegedly, when Hemingway said this to his soon-to-be-former friend, Fitzgerald gave him one grand blow to the jaw. Supposedly, they never spoke again, ending a long-standing literary friendship.
I read Tender is the Night when I was in school, and I adored parts of it and will never be sorry I read it, but there were long sections that were so drawn-out that I found myself longing to reach the end of each chapter. I think he should have heeded his editor’s suggestions to condense, but Fitzgerald didn’t agree.
I wonder what I’d make of it today, and I hope my comments coming from the daft memories of a young adult will make you more determined than ever to read it. I’d so enjoy hearing your thoughts about it.
Judith,
I’m reading Tender is the Night at the moment, in the original format, I think nowadays they have re-jigged the order in which it was first published as that was what Fitzgerald intended to do with it not long before he died. So I’m enjoying book 2 but it was a bit of a struggle to get past book 1. It’s such a shame that Fitzgerald had such success with Gatsby at an early age. It seems that after that he spent far more time enjoying himself and living off his reputation – and short stories. I think you would really enjoy the Sarah Churchwell book, maybe you can get it from your library. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/29/careless-people-sarah-churchwell-review
I have put my copy of the Pym book in such a safe place that I can’t find it! It’ll turn up sometime, no doubt.
Katrina,
Thank you, I will look up the Churchwell book. And about the Pym book–it’s only natural that some books have done a temporary disappearing act. It will all sort itself out with time. I can certainly wait til then.
Judith
Judith,
Fine, we’ve hardly begun to sort through the books but I’m sure it wasn’t in a box of books – but what did I do with it?! It’s here somewhere.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s reaction to Zelda’s book somewhat reminds me of the rift between Elaine Dundy and her theatre critic husband, although in that case, he was upset that her novel was so successful. They later divorced. Why it reminded me of that was probably just the difficulty of two artists being married to each other, but how the art they create can have a potent affect on the relationship.
Christy,
I think that quite a lot of men would feel threatened by a more successful wife, especially if they are working within the same profession. I think women are more sensible, but poor Zelda was put off from ever writing anything again, and she was just as good as he was!