Sometimes Madness is Wisdom: Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald- A Marriage

Irresistibly charming, recklessly brilliant, the Fitzgeralds epitomized everything that was beautiful and damned about the Jazz Age. This is the story of Zelda Sayre, a talented and beautiful Southern belle who captured the heart of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, celebrated author of "This Side of Paradise" and later, "The Great Gatsby". Taylor reveals the lives of a couple who took New York by storm in an flamboyant explosion of excess. They were the ultimate "it" couple - partying hard, living fast, travelling widely and drinking far too much. After riding the New York rollercoaster, they jaunted over to Paris and the French Riviera, then back to Hollywood, always spending more than they were earning and existing one step away from catastrophe. Ten years into the marriage, things began to crumble and Zelda - her own rich artistic talents unfulfilled - had the first of many breakdowns. Scott embarked upon the first of many affairs. Their story recalls an age where "anything went" but at considerable cost. Kendall Taylor writes with sympathy and insight, including appearances by Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway, among others. The author began her own research by interviewing many of the Fiztgeralds' acquaintances, and Zelda's friends and family.