In 1939, F. Scott Fitzgerald was in Hollywood, in failing health, trying to work—write for the movies, sell some stories—and to continue to be the mainstay and anchor for his family, paying Zelda’s substantial hospital bills, educating Scottie and remaining, through letters, a protective and anxious father. The magazines were no longer clamoring for his stories; his books had nearly disappeared from the bookstores. The fame, money and high times of the early years seemed to have evaporated. Fortune had not deserted him entirely, however—Frances Kroll applied for the position as Fitzgerald’s secretary. Young and a little shy, but nevertheless level-headed, intelligent, practical, versatile and resilient, Miss Kroll played a vital role during the last quiet but difficult twenty months of Fitzgerald’s life. They worked at home where she typed from his handwritten pages, ordered groceries, made appointments and listened while he talked out ideas. Finally, it fell to her to make his funeral arrangements and deal with the modest belongings. Nearly a lifetime later, Frances Kroll Ring gives us both the youthful experience of Fitzgerald, and her mature vision of it. This frankly admiring and respectful memoir of the extraordinary writer creates a uniquely domestic picture. We see an admirable and talented man carrying on with dignity, purpose and commitment against a tide of troubles and disappointments.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Editorial Reviews
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[A] model of compression and enlightenment...an all-encompassing image of F. Scott Fitzgerald in the winter of his life. -- San Francisco Chronicle
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Poignant little memoir,
By Professor Wilbur Hamilton "The Wilbur" (Hamilton, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: AGAINST THE CURRENT: As I Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald (Paperback)
This is a wonderful, unassuming narrative about the final days of F. Scott Fitzgerald which paints him as a real human being with real problems, writing immortal fiction with a dying hand. His fragility and beauty is evident, and this quick read is a must for anyone determined to learn about the real Fitzgerald.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Chronicle of a Dying Star,
This review is from: AGAINST THE CURRENT: As I Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald (Paperback)
This is a wonderful book, poignant yet revealing, just like the man it is about. Frances Kroll Ring was Fitzgerald's secretary in the last few years of his life. What she details in her memoir will enlighten anyone who has only ever thought of Fitzgerald as merely an alcoholic who just stumbled into writing. Yes, she records that he was drinking well up to his death, but he was also doing something important. He was in the middle of writing "The Last Tycoon", a work that was to be unlike his previous efforts, more mature and reflecting a different sensibility. But, as one finds out at the end of "Against the Current", he never realized his goal. The great work was left unfinished, and therefore one more tragedy closed the curtain on an already sad life.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Rediscovered Snapshot,
By
This review is from: Against the Current: As I Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald (Paperback)
The Los Angeles Times review got it right: This book "is like a rediscovered snapshot, bringing a legendary figure into brief, vivid focus." That snapshot also includes a perceptive young woman and her family, Fitzgerald's inner circle (Sheilah Graham, Scottie, Maxwell Perkins, and Edmund Wilson), and a slice of Los Angeles during its most creative period. Hollywood is the backdrop for this book and *The Last Tycoon*, which Fitzgerald was writing at the time, but there's no glitzy melodrama here, and Ring mostly steers clear of "the Fitzorama"--her term for the literary-industrial complex that has grown up around Fitzgerald. By telling her story simply and beautifully, she produces the vivid focus mentioned above. The book also includes reproductions of letters, notes, and telegrams composed by Scott, Zelda, Perkins, and Wilson. Highly recommended.
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