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F. Scott Fitzgerald Facts & Worksheets

F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American novelist and short-story writer. Posthumously, his career was inevitably written in the history of American literature after the success of his Jazz Age-inspired novel, The Great Gatsby.

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See the fact file below for more information on F. Scott Fitzgerald or alternatively, you can download our 22 page F. Scott Fitzgerald worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Early Life

  • Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on December 21, 1940, in St. Paul, Minnesota. His parents were Mary McQuillan, a wholesale grocer, and Edward Fitzgerald, owner of a furniture business and sales agent for Procter and Gamble.
  • At the age of 12, Francis Scott saw the shortcomings of his father in business and work. In 1908, after Edward lost his job at P&G, the family moved back to St. Paul from New York and lived off the inheritance of his mother.
  • Fitzgerald attended St. Paul Academy. When he was 13, his first work was a detective story published in the school’s newspaper. At the age of 15, he went to Newman School in New Jersey. While staying at the Catholic preparatory school, he met Father Sigourney Fay, who noticed his literary talent and encouraged him to write.
  • In 1913, after graduation, he enrolled at Princeton University. Fitzgerald continued to hone his skills as a writer. He wrote scripts for Triangle Club musicals, Princeton’s leading creative organization. In addition, he also contributed articles for the Princeton Tiger magazine and Nassau Literary Magazine.
  • In 1917, he dropped out of school and joined the U.S. Army. While serving, he wrote the novel, The Romantic Egotist, but it was rejected by the publisher, Charles Scribner’s Sons.
  • As a second lieutenant, he was assigned to Camp Sheridan outside Montgomery, Alabama. By the end of WWI in 1918, he moved to New York with hopes to launch his literary career. Unfortunately, he lost his job and went back to St. Paul.
  • On April 3, 1920, Fitzgerald married his 18-year old muse, Zelda Sayre, daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court judge. They had a daughter named Frances “Scottie” Fitzgerald, born in 1921. During the mid-1920s, Zelda suffered from mental health issues until her death while in an asylum in 1948.
  • In 1925, while in Paris, the Fitzgeralds met Ernest Hemingway, also a young writer. The two disliked each other because Hemingway saw Zelda as a crazy woman.

Literary Career of F. Scott Fitzgerald

  • On March 26, 1920, his first novel, This Side of Paradise, was published by Scribner. At the age of 24, Fitzgerald experienced temporary stardom. His debut novel was sold out after three days.
  • It was a story about Amory Blaine, who was rejected by two wealthy women.
  • After becoming one of the most promising writers, Fitzgerald lived an extravagant life and earned a playboy reputation.
  • In 1922, he published his second novel, The Beautiful and Damned. The story was about the complicated marriage of Anthony and Gloria Patch. His work made him a renowned writer of the Jazz Age.
  • In 1924, Fitzgerald moved to Valescure, France. After a year, The Great Gatsby was published and was modestly received by readers. The story revolves around the experiences of Nick Carraway, a new resident of West Egg town, in Long Island, as he befriends the wealthy Jay Gatsby. It crosses the themes of love, complication, strange friendship, materialism, the American dream, and death.
  • By 1934, Tender is the Night, Fitzgerald’s fourth novel was published. It was inspired by the struggle of his wife, Zelda, who experienced mental illness. The story is about the struggles of an American psychiatrist based in France and his marriage to a wealthy patient. Initially, the book gained little readers due to it’s structure.
  • After the success of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald experienced writer’s block and indulged in alcohol.
  • He tried to revive his career and became a freelance story writer in Hollywood. By 1939, he worked on the manuscript of The Love of the Last Tycoon, which was supposedly his fifth novel.

Death and Legacy

  • On December 21, 1940, at the age of 44, F. Scott Fitzgerald died of a heart attack, in Hollywood, California.
  • During his married life, Fitzgerald never really owned a home. They lived in rented apartments, mansions and hotels as they moved from one city to another. In order to write,
  • Fitzgerald lived in various cities, including Connecticut, New York, Long Island, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Delaware, Baltimore, North Carolina, Paris and Rome.
  • In addition to novels, Fitzgerald also wrote short-stories from the 1920s, including The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, The Camel’s Back, The Last of the Belles, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
  • In 2008, a film adaptation of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button hit the cinemas. It received 13 Academy Award nominations and won three. The story revolves around a boy who was born with the appearance of an old man. His life goes backwards as he experiences youth as he ages.
  • Fitzgerald received modest popularity for his works in his lifetime. It was not until the 1950s and 1960s when The Great Gatsby gained prominence as one of the greatest novels in American literature. It became the portrait of the decade called the “Roaring Twenties.” Today, his 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby sells more than 500,000 copies a year. The 2013 film adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, grossed over $350 million at the box office.
  • To honor his contributions to American literature, a bronze statue was erected in Rice Park, St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 1, 1996.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the world heritage site F. Scott Fitzgerald across 22 wonderful pages. These are ready-to-use F. Scott Fitzgerald worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about F. Scott Fitzgerald who was an American novelist and short-story writer. Posthumously, his career was inevitably written in the history of American literature after the success of his Jazz Age-inspired novel, The Great Gatsby.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald Facts
  • Roaring Twenties’ Novelist
  • Best-selling Authors
  • Three Novels
  • The Great Gatsby
  • Fitzgerald’s Travelogue
  • All About the Jazz
  • Fitzgerald Says
  • Guess the Title
  • Pre-eminent Writers
  • Pen and Film

Frequently Asked Questions

What is F. Scott Fitzgerald most famous for?

Although F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote four novels and more than one hundred short stories in his lifetime, he is best recognized for his third novel: The Great Gatsby. In fact, The Great Gatsby is often called “the great American novel.”

How did F. Scott Fitzgerald impact the world?

Fitzgerald’s Roaring Twenties accurately reflected in his writing brought a new level to American literature. He was an influential figure whose work continues to impact readers today.

Did F. Scott Fitzgerald fight in the war?

In 1917, after Fitzgerald was placed on academic probation and dropped out of Princeton, he joined the United States Army to fight in World War I. His uniform was tailored by Brooks Brothers.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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