Flappers

So now I'm reading 'Zelda' by Nancy Milford. It's terribly entertaining and has unlimited juicy gossip about the Fitzgeralds. God, what a mess those two were. Anyway, they were a talented mess. I'm feeling like I need to go back now and read 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Tender is the Night'. I had no idea that Zelda was such a muse for F. Scott (short for Francis Scott Key, in case you didn't know). He even inserted wholly unchanged letters from her into 'This Side of Paradise'. Zelda was a gifted writer as well, and drew high praise from literary pals for her diaries. She was even urged by said pals to publish them. Scott stole her thunder by claiming them as his own as they inspired him so greatly. What a toad. Apparently Zelda didn't object, but still.

So if you haven't already read it, rush right out and get a copy of 'The Great Gatsby'. If you like the Jazz Age and have any interest in flappers, overindulgence or romantic ventures thwarted by class distinctions, this is the book for you. I know I've been stuck on this genre for awhile now. I promise to move on, but for now I'm craving bobbed hair and bathtub gin.