Few writers conveyed the spirit of the roaring twenties as accurately as F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this program, writer Jay McInerny, Fitzgerald biographer Scott Donaldson, and others talk about Fitzgerald’s life, writing, and marriage to the ill-fated Zelda. Fitzgerald’s ascent to the dizzying heights of Paris literary society and later failure as a Hollywood screenwriter are documented. The dissolution of his brief friendship with Ernest Hemingway is attributed to Hemingway’s criticism of Fitzgerald’s failure to fully develop his writing talent. Excerpts from The Romantic Egoist, This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, Tender Is the Night, and The Last Tycoon illuminate Fitzgerald’s unique writing style. Letters from Zelda underscore the couple’s tragic and superficial existence—Fitzgerald’s alcoholism and Zelda’s own mental illness. A BBC Production. (52 minutes)