Zelda Fitzgerald by Sally Cline

Zelda Fitzgerald by Sally Cline

Legend views Zelda Fitzgerald as the mythical American Dream Girl of the 1920s, later as the Southern Belle whose brilliant husband Scott remained loyal despite her frequent breakdowns and final madness. The Zelda that Sally Cline reveals was a serious artist: a painter of extraordinary and disturbing vision, a talented dancer and a witty and original writer whose work Scott often used in his own novels but never acknowledged. Hitherto untapped sources, including medical evidence and interviews with Zelda's last psychiatrist, suggest that her insanity may have been less a specific clinical condition than the product of her treatment for schizophrenia and her husband's behaviour towards her. Cline shows how Scott's alcoholism, too, was as destructive of Zelda and their marriage as it was of him. Zelda's vivid and tragic life was lived at the height of the Jazz Age. Her circle included Edmund Wilson, John Dos Passos, Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker and Lillian Hellman. Sally Cline evokes that gilttering group and also, perhaps more significantly, the Deep South from which Zelda longed to escape but from which she could never free herself.

'Exhaustively researched' -- Publisher's Weekly 'A thorough biography, a strong case for why the unfortunate Zelda Fitzgerald should be remembered as an artist foremost, not merely as a victim of mental illness' 'Cline's account should find considerable following among student's of women's literature and art' -- Kirkus Reviews 'Passionately partisan biography' -- Nina Auerbach LRB 'Cline's account is lush and readable, with some telling new material' -- Nina Auerbach, LRB 'Cline's clear-headed and careful study should make clear that [the Fitzgeralds] relationship can no longer be regarded as a great love story.. [and] demonstrates the terrible danger of such romantic fairytales' -- Elaine Showalter, The Guardian 'Cline gives depth and a dark edge to the familiar story of the Fitzgeralds that began stylishly in hope and ended in despair' -- The Times 'Scrupulously researched, with much new material' -- Literary Review 'Her biography is enjoyable and even gripping' -- Sunday Telegraph 'Sally Cline's book is an excellent one' -- Kathryn Hughes, Literary Review 'Impressively researched and imaginatively written' -- Sunday Times

Sally Cline is the author of the acclaimed biography 'Radclyffe Hall: A Woman Called John'. Both her short stories and her non-fiction have won literary prizes. She teaches part time at the University of Cambridge and holds a Royal Literary Fund Writer's Fellowship at Anglia Polytechnic University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780719554667
ISBN 10	0719554667
Title	Zelda Fitzgerald
Author	Sally Cline
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	John Murray Press
Year published	2002-09-26
Number of pages	512
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable