The Thoughtbook of F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Secret Boyhood Diary
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
The Thoughtbook of F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Secret Boyhood Diary
By (Author) F. Scott Fitzgerald
Edited by Dave Page
University of Minnesota Press
University of Minnesota Press
9th December 2013
United States
Classifications
General
Non Fiction
Anthologies: general
History of the Americas
Local history
813.52
Physical Properties
Paperback
88
Width 127mm, Height 178mm, Spine 51mm
Description
When F. Scott Fitzgerald was fourteen and living in the Crocus Hill neighborhood of St. Paul, he began keeping a short diary of his exploits among his friends, friendly rivals, and crushes. He gave the journal a title pageThoughtbook of Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald of St. Paul Minn. U.S.A.and kept it securely locked in a box under his bed. He would later use The Thoughtbook as the basis for The Book of Scandal in his Basil Lee Duke stories, and brief sections were copied over the years for use by scholars and even published in Life magazine.Are you going to the Ordways the Herseys the Schultzes Here, for the first time, is a complete transcription of this charming, twenty-seven-page diary highlighting Fitzgeralds escapades among the children of some of St. Pauls most influential familiesmodels for the families described in The Great Gatsby. Presented in a simple format for both scholars and general readers alike, The Thoughtbook of F. Scott Fitzgerald includes a new introduction by Dave Page that covers the history and provenance of the diary, its place and meaning in Fitzgeralds literary development, and its revelations about his life and writing process.
One of the earliest known works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Thoughtbook provides a unique glimpse of Fitzgerald as a young boy and his social circle as they played among the grand homes of Summit Avenue, making up games, starting secret societies, competing with rivals, and (at all times) staying up-to-date on who exactly is vying for whose attention.
Reviews
The Thoughtbook is a fascinating document. You can see the social analyst, the novelist of manners, just beginning to develop.James L. W. West III, General Editor, Cambridge Fitzgerald Edition
Author Bio
F. Scott Fitzgerald (18961940) was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and spent much of his youth living in the Crocus Hill neighborhood. He went on to become one of the most famous American novelists of the twentieth century, often drawing on his youthful experiences in St. Paul in his stories and novels.
