Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler, 2013

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald is a fictional account of Zelda Fitzgerald based on actual events.

Daughter of a Southern judge and from a family of senators, Zelda met F. Scott Fitzgerald when he was stationed in Alabama.

The courtship was a whirlwind where Zelda finally agreed to move to New York City and marry Scott Fitzgerald after his first book, This Side of Paradise was published.

Thus begun the whirlwind love of the Fitzgerald where they were the "it" couple, invited to the best parties, and written up about in the newspaper.

Zelda embraced her new found celebrity and lived up the Flapper image outlined in Scott Fitzgerald's story and other attention grabbing acts throughout her and her husband's robust social life.

Fueled by alcohol, reckless spending and insecurities for both Zelda and Scott, their marriage would continue overseas to Paris where their contemporaries included Gertrude Stein, Picasso and Ernest Hemingway.

Some of the Parisian scenes took place in Les Deux Magots in Saint-Germai, where many artists convened.  It's neat to think that just a month ago during my Parisian vacation, I was at the Les Deux Magots enjoying lunch and a glass of wine where the Fitzgeralds, Hemingways, and Picasso used to hang out. 

Les Deux Magots

Although talented, Scott Fitzgerald's insecurities and drinking prevented him from writing and eventually drove Zelda away.

Zelda returned to her love for dance and dedicated herself to ballet eight hours a day after a medical condition her prevented her from drinking and keeping up with her husband.

Eventually, Zelda would be committed into a mental institution before returning home to her family in Montgomery, Alabama, where she spent the rest of her life in and out of institutions.

This book reminds me of the Paris Wife, a fictional biography of Hadley Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway's wife.  Both wives lived in the shadow of their talented, fickle and philandering husbands, whose lives revolved around themselves and their writing.

The book kicks off with the following T.S. Eliot quote: If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?

- read sometime end of 2013