The Gatsby Affair: Scott, Zelda, and the Betrayal That Shaped an American Classic

319 Pages·2018·1.75 MB·English

by  Kendall Taylor

The Gatsby Affair

The Gatsby Affair
Scott, Zelda, and the Betrayal
That Shaped an American Classic
Kendall Taylor
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
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Published by Rowman & Littlefield
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Taylor, Kendall, 1941– author.
Title: The Gatsby affair : Scott, Zelda, and the betrayal that shaped an
American classic / Kendall Taylor.
Description: Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, [2018] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018008344 (print) | LCCN 2018008820 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781538104941 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538104934 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896–1940—Marriage. |
Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896–1940—Characters—Jay Gatsby. | Authors,
American—20th century—Biography. | Fitzgerald, Zelda, 1900–1948—Marriage. |
Fitzgerald, Zelda, 1900–1948—Relations with men. | Authors’ spouses—United
States—Biography. | Married people—United States—Biography. | Fitzgerald,
F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896–1940. Great Gatsby.
Classification: LCC PS3511.I9 (ebook) | LCC PS3511.I9 Z8725 2018 (print) |
DDC 813/.52 [B]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018008344
™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
For my daughter,
Dre
Never Doubt the Power of Perseverance

It was a sad love affair holding no promise and too impassioned to be
dignified. None of them, in their fervor and necessity to contribute to
their brilliant and embittered world, remembered the fact that, what
counts is not the kiss, but the loyalties which are broken, the threads
of fidelity which are frayed.
—Zelda Fitzgerald

Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xix
Chronology of Edouard Jozan and the Fitzgeralds xxv
Chapter 1 Recklessness in the Making 1
Chapter 2 Seeds of Discontent 27
Chapter 3 The French Lieutenant 51
Chapter 4 A Mistress Not a Wife 65
Chapter 5 Truly a Sad Story 83
Chapter 6 Retribution and Remorse 103
Chapter 7 Locked Away 123
Chapter 8 No Hope Salvaged 139
Chapter 9 An Ailment No One Could Cure 157
Chapter 10 All in Disarray 169
Chapter 11 A Mind Washed Clean 187
Notes 207
Bibliography 237
Index 253
About the Author 261
ix