The Gatsby Affair: Scott, Zelda, and the Betrayal that Shaped an American Classic

(Hardback)

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The romance between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre has been celebrated as one of the greatest of the 20th century. From the beginning, their relationship was a tumultuous one, in which the couples excesses were as widely known as their passion for each other. Despite their love, both Scott and Zelda engaged in flirtations that threatened to tear the couple apart. But none had a more profound impact on the twoand on Scotts writingas the liaison between Zelda and a French aviator, Edouard Jozan. Though other biographies have written of Jozan as one of Scotts romantic rivals, accounts of the pilots effect on the couple have been superficial at best.

In The Gatsby Affair: Scott, Zelda, and the Betrayal That Shaped an American Classic, Kendall Taylor examines the dalliance between the southern belle and the French pilot from a fresh perspective. Drawing on conversations and correspondence with Jozans daughter, as well as materials from the Jozan family archives, Taylor sheds new light on this romantic triangle. More than just a casual fling, Zeldas tryst with Edouard affected Scott as much as it did his wifeand ultimately influenced the authors most famous creation, Jay Gatsby. Were it not for Zeldas affair with the pilot, Scotts novel might be less about betrayal and more about lost illusions.

Exploring the private motives of these public figures, Taylor offers new explanations for their behavior. In addition to the love triangle that included Jozan, Taylor also delves into an earlier event in Zeldas lifea sexual assault she suffered as a teenagerone that affected her future relationships. Both a literary study and a probing look at an iconic couples psychological makeup, The Gatsby Affair offers readers a bold interpretation of how one of Americas greatest novels was influenced.

Reviews

Taylors work leaves readers with a colorful portrait of a stormy chapter in the Fitzgeralds life and its far-reaching consequences. * Publishers Weekly *
Meticulously researched, the authors attention to detail creates an immersion into the Jazz Age and highlights previously unknown events that offer explanations for both Fitzgerald and Zeldas recklessness and approach to life. Much has been documented about their tumultuous relationship, but Taylor examines the couples dependence on each other through an unfiltered lens that reveals the life events that shaped their existence and, ultimately, their demise. The authors skill at discovering new information on the uninhibited couples past encounters connects the previously missing pieces and establishes a multi-dimensional picture of these passionate individuals. * US Review of Books *
The Gatsby Affair is highly atmospheric and does an incredible job explaining the time period, how Zelda and Scott met, and the context of the affair. * FangirlNation *
Who is Edouard Jozan The intriguing mystery man in the saga of Scott and Zelda has long eluded literary sleuths. In a stunning feat of research, Kendall Taylor brings the French aviator out of the shadows to reveal how he influenced the writing of a classic novel and left his mark on the marriage of an iconic couple. This is an important, richly detailed biography that will deepen our understanding of American literature. -- Marion Meade, author of Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This
Kendall Taylor rips the lid off one of the worlds great literary mysteriesthe love triangle between Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and French aviator Edouard Jozan. Brimming with strong research and enchanted writing, Taylors engaging account of the love affair and its consequences is sure to stir fans eager to dig into this absorbing chapter in the lives of Scott and Zelda. -- Bob Batchelor, author of Stan Lee: The Man behind Marvel and Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel
This new telling of Zeldas affair with French pilot Edouard Jozan is powerfully rendered, thanks to Kendall Taylors laudable research. By interweaving bits from Scott and Zeldas novels, Taylor shows how the French pilot triggered ever deepening fractures in the Fitzgerald marriage, and brings a heart-wrenching light to their lives and their work. -- Sally Ryder Brady, author of A Box of Darkness: The Story of a Marriage
With admirable scholarship, Kendall Taylor takes the reader on a journey into the complex heart of the Jazz Era. Probing the volatile Fitzgerald marriage, she shows the destructive forces unleashed by infidelity, and portrays Zelda as a suppressed creator in her own right. An absorbing study of one of the most fascinating couples of the twentieth century. -- Mary McAuliffe, author of When Paris Sizzled: The 1920s Paris of Hemingway, Chanel, Cocteau, Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, and Their Friends
While the line, 'Rich girls dont marry poor boys,' isnt actually in F. Scott Fitzgeralds classic novel The Great Gatsby, that line is in at least one film version and is a perfect summation of Fitzgeralds personal mythology as it appears in his most famous book. What Kendall Taylor does in her latest book The Gatsby Affair is masterful in her examination of the rich girlZelda Sayrewho did marry the poor boyFitzgeraldbut whose love was as much about betrayal and pain as it was about joy and celebration. . . . [Taylor's] prose is passionate, dense, and masterful in its revelation of the immediate attraction between the two. . . . For fans of Fitzgeralds work, or those just interested in exploring the difficult and tragic love lives of two of Americas literary giants, The Gatsby Affair is a must read. * Seattle Book Review *

Author Bio

Kendall Taylor, Ph.D., is a cultural historian who has taught at George Washington University, The American University, and State University of New York. She also served as Head of the National Exhibitions Program at the Library of Congress, Academic Director of The American Universitys Washington Semester Program in Art and Architecture, and Vice President for Planning, Research, and Institutional Advancement at Friends World College in Huntington, Long Island. A Fulbright scholar and winner of numerous awards, Taylor is the author of the critically acclaimed biography of the Fitzgeralds, Sometimes Madness Is Wisdom, which was published in 2001. She lives in New York and Florida.