Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum

She was born on July 24, 1900, in Montgomery, Alabama. When she was 18 years old, Zelda met the handsome Lt. Scott Fitzgerald at a dance at the Montgomery Country Club. Although Fitzgerald was stationed for only a short time at an army base near Montgomery, he and Zelda kept in touch throughout his time in service and shortly after his discharge they were married. They had one child.

Zelda was an accomplished artist in her own right. She focused on painting, ballet, and writing. With Scott's assistance Zelda wrote several short stories which were published in periodicals under Scott's name or with a joint byline. While living in Paris in 1929-30, Zelda wrote short stories such as "The Original Follies Girls," "The Southern Girl," and "The Girls with Talent."

Although Zelda had become an accomplished writer, she could not shake the association with Scott. Her story, "A Millionaire's Girl," seemed so well written that Saturday Evening Post assumed that Scott had written it and published it under his name.

In 1930, Zelda suffered the first of three nervous breakdowns during her lifetime. As a step to recovery, she turned even more to writing, composing letters to Scott, working on short stories such as "Miss Ella" and "A Couple of Nuts" and her novel, Save Me the Waltz. Critics have said that Zelda's writing grew to a point where Scott viewed her as a rival. However, publishers and readers never gave Zelda nor her writing the recognition it deserved.

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