Zelda - by Nancy Milford (Paperback)

About the Book

Acclaimedbiographer Nancy Milford brings to life the tormented, elusive personality ofZelda Sayre and clarifies as never before her relationship with F. ScottFitzgerald, tracing the inner disintegration of a gifted, despairing womanundone by the clash between her husband s career and her own talent. Zelda was an instant touchstone forcreatively inspired readers after its initial publication in 1983; Patti Smithhails it in her autobiography, Just Kids, recalling how reading the story of Zelda Fitzgerald by Nancy Milford, Iidentified with her mutinous spirit. Now, the penetrating biography of one oftwentieth century literature s most misunderstood figures a book the New York Times calls profound, overwhelmingly moving . . . [and] a richly complex love story is availableagain in a handsome paperback edition from Harper Perennial."

Book Synopsis

"Profound, overwhelmingly moving . . . a richly complex love story." -- New York Times

Acclaimed biographer Nancy Milford brings to life the tormented, elusive personality of Zelda Sayre and clarifies as never before Zelda's relationship with her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald--tracing the inner disintegration of a gifted, despairing woman, torn by the clash between her husband's career and her own talent.

Zelda Sayre's stormy life spanned from notoriety as a spirited Southern beauty to success as a gifted novelist and international celebrity at the side of her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Zelda and Fitzgerald were one of the most visible couples of the Jazz Age, inhabiting and creating around them a world of excitement, romance, art, and promise. Yet their tumultuous relationship precipitated a descent into depression and mental instability for Zelda, leaving her to spend the final twenty years of her life in hospital care, until a fire at a sanitarium claimed her life.

Incorporating years of exhaustive research and interviews, Milford illuminates Zelda's nuanced and elusive personality, giving character to both her artistic vibrancy and to her catastrophic collapse.

From the Back Cover

Zelda Sayre started out as a Southern beauty, became an international wonder, and died by fire in a madhouse. With her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald, she moved in a golden aura of excitement, romance, and promise. The epitome of the Jazz Age, they rode the crest of the era to its collapse and their own.

As a result of years of exhaustive research, Nancy Milford brings alive the tormented, elusive personality of Zelda and clarifies as never before her relationship with Scott Fitzgerald. Zelda traces the inner disintegration of a gifted, despairing woman, torn by the clash between her husband's career and her own talent.

Review Quotes

"Nancy Milford has sought to make us see Zelda as a separate person and, by that, the Fitzgeralds through a woman's eyes . . . . A superb portrait." -- Washington Post Book World

"Profound, overwhelmingly moving...a richly complex love story." -- New York Times

"Milford's fine book is itself a work of art." -- Wall Street Journal