Zelda Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald, best known for The Great Gatsby, is widely regarded as one of the great American novelists of the 20th century. Despite his status in literary history, the true extent of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s authorship remains a subject of debate, particularly how much of his work was influenced— or even directly written— by his wife, Zelda Fitzgerald.  

Zelda Fitzgerald was a prominent socialite in the 1920s, frequently referred to by the media as the original “flapper girl.” Her sharp wit, vibrant personality, and creative talents made her a central figure in the Jazz Age.  

Portrait of Zelda Fitzgerald

However, due to prevailing gender biases against female writers at the time, she occasionally published her own work under her husband’s name to maximize their earnings (though any aspects of emotional coercion due to the unhealthy aspects of their marriage remain unclear). In some instances, publishers would unauthorizedly add her husband’s name to the byline, as his name carried more commercial weight. While spousal co-authorship is not unheard of, many passages in F. Scott’s books were directly stolen from her words in personal letters, diaries, and even casual conversations. Zelda became acutely aware of these appropriations. Following the release of The Beautiful and the Dammed in 1922, Zelda recognized entire passages from her private writings and felt deeply betrayed. Never one to remain silent, she publicly denounced her husband in The New York Tribune.  

Zelda Fitzgerald with her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Having been asked to write a review of his novel, The Beautiful and the Dammed, Zelda seized her opportunity to reclaim her work and call out her husband. Though this article is now commonly referred to as Friend Husband’s Latest, that was originally merely the subheading to the actual title of Mrs. F. Scott Fitzgerald Reviews “The Beautiful and Dammed.”  

In the review, she sarcastically remarked:  

“It seems to me that on one page I recognized a portion of an old diary of mine which mysteriously disappeared shortly after my marriage, and also scraps of letters which, though considerably edited, sound to me vaguely familiar. In fact, Mr. Fitzgerald—I believe that is how he spells his name— seems to think that plagiarism begins at home.”  

New York Tribune newspaper (April 2, 1922) under the heading “Mrs. F. Scott Fitzgerald Reviews ‘The Beautiful and Damned,’ Friend Husband’s Latest.”

Her wry and quippy tone seeks to undermine F. Scott’s credibility and validity as a literary figure worthy of the recognition he had garnered at the time. While F. Scott scarcely admitted her to be an intellectual collaborator and editor, Zelda’s review positioned herself as more than an editor or muse— she was a writer in her own right. She emphasized her own “brilliant critical insight,” “tremendous erudition,” and “vast impressive partiality,” framing herself as a qualified literary figure worthy of recognition. 

The Fitzgeralds’ marriage was notoriously strained with both rumored to have had multiple affairs and alcoholic tendencies. In 1930, Zelda was diagnosed with schizophrenia— a diagnosis that remains contested— and spent much of the following decade in psychiatric institutions. After the publication of Friend Husband’s Latest and during her time at Johns Hopkins University’s Phillips Clinic, Zelda Fitzgerald attempted to reclaim her name and craft through the publication of her own novel, Save Me the Waltz, a semi-autobiographical novel partially about her tumultuous marriage.  

Save Me The Waltz cover

Zelda then sent her novel to her husband’s publisher. F. Scott was outraged as he had included some of the same material Zelda had written in his own forthcoming release, Tender is the Night. He forced her to remove the passages from her novel. Publicly, F. Scott dismissed his wife as a “third-rate writer” and “plagiaristic,” an ironic charge given his own history of appropriating her words. With little support and after a disappointing commercial reception, Save Me the Waltz became Zelda’s only work ever published, and she was left humiliated and largely erased from literary history.  

Following F. Scott’s death from a heart attack in 1940, Zelda continued to struggle with her mental health, periodically returning to psychiatric facilities to care for her depression. It was on one of these stays at Highland Hospital that tragedy struck. In 1948, an intense fire broke out. Locked in her room and medicated with intense sedatives, Zelda was one of nine women who perished in the blaze, her life ending in obscurity despite the brilliance she had once possessed.

Sign in Ashville, NC

Sources

Carrasco, Isabel. 2019. “How F. Scott Fitzgerald, Author of the Great Gatsby,’ Plagiarized His Own Wife.” Cultura Colectiva. March 25, 2019. 

F. Scott Fitzgerald Society. (n.d.). Zelda Fitzgerald.  

Fitzgerald, Zelda. 1922. “Friend Husband's Latest.” April 2, 1922. The New York Tribune.

Milam, W. (2016, March 29). Zelda Fitzgerald: Meet the Original Flapper. Amy Poehler's Smart Girls. 

Milford, Nancy. Zelda: A Biography. New York: Harper & Row, 1970. Print. 

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. (2024, January 23). Zelda Fitzgerald (P-89) [Photograph].  

Scribner. (n.d.). Save me the Waltz cover. 

Tyra, Allison. Uncredited: Women’s Overlooked, Misattributed and Stolen Work. Rising Action, 2025.  

Ullrich, David W. 2021. “Mr. Fitzgerald—I believe that is how he spells his name—seems to think that plagiarism begins at home”: A Reading of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald’s “Friend Husband’s Latest.” The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review. 2021.  

Unknown photographer. (ca. 1919). Zelda Fitzgerald [Photograph]. 

Unknown photographer. (1922, April 2). Zelda Fitzgerald [Photograph]. Published in New York Tribune under the heading “Mrs. F. Scott Fitzgerald Reviews ‘The Beautiful and Damned,’ Friend Husband’s Latest.” 

Zelda Fitzgerald: The Collected Writings. Ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli. New York: Scribner’s, 1991. Print.