Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise [Paperback]

Sally Cline (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2004

Zelda Fitzgerald, along with her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald, is remembered above all else as a personification of the style and glamour of the roaring twenties - an age of carefree affluence such as the world has not seen since. But along with the wealth and parties came a troubled mind, at a time when a woman exploiting her freedom of expression was likely to attract accusations of insanity. After 1934 Zelda spent most of her life in a mental institution; outliving her husband by few years, she died in a fire as she was awaiting electro convulsive therapy in a sanatorium. Zelda's story has often been told by detractors, who would cast her as a parasite in the marriage - most famously, Ernest Hemingway accused her of taking pleasure in blunting her husband's genius; when she wrote her autobiographical novel, Fitzgerald himself complained she had used his material. But was this fair, when Fitzgerald's novels were based on their life together? Sally Cline's biography, first published in 2003, makes use of letters, journals, and doctor's records to detail the development of their marriage, and to show the collusion between husband and doctors in a misdirected attempt to 'cure' Zelda's illness. Their prescription - no dancing, no painting, and above all, no writing - left her creative urges with no outlet, and was bound to make matters worse for a woman who thrived on the expression of allure and wealth.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Once the hoydenish belle of Montgomery, Alabama, then the notorious flapper wife of the famed novelist who coined the very term jazz age, Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald was as artistic as she was bold and beautiful. Sadly, she lost her footing, suffering several breakdowns and enduring long periods of institutionalization. Nancy Milford was the first to tell Zelda's tragic story, and now, three decades later, newly released material enables British biographer Cline, whose previous subject was Radclyffe Hall, to present this remarkably fresh and comprehensive interpretation. The crux of her study is her energetic scrutiny of how Scott and Zelda's male doctors refused to recognize the legitimacy of Zelda's artistic drive, forbidding her to dance, paint, and write, pursuits essential to her well-being. It was the writing, of course, that enraged Scott the most, and Cline's tirelessly detailed and piercingly analytical parsing of his insistence that as a "professional" he had exclusive right to fictionalize Zelda's experiences is riveting in its revelations not only of his desperation but also of society's intrinsic misogyny. Cline not only clarifies many heretofore misunderstood aspects of Zelda's life, she also celebrates her unique style of whimsical and sardonic artistic expression. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Exhaustively researched' -- Publisher's Weekly 'A thorough biography, a strong case for why the unfortunate Zelda Fitzgerald should be remembered as an artist foremost, not merely as a victim of mental illness' 'Cline's account should find considerable following among student's of women's literature and art' -- Kirkus Reviews 'Passionately partisan biography' -- Nina Auerbach LRB 'Cline's account is lush and readable, with some telling new material' -- Nina Auerbach, LRB 'Cline's clear-headed and careful study should make clear that [the Fitzgeralds] relationship can no longer be regarded as a great love story ... [and] demonstrates the terrible danger of such romantic fairytales' -- Elaine Showalter, The Guardian 'Cline gives depth and a dark edge to the familiar story of the Fitzgeralds that began stylishly in hope and ended in despair' -- The Times 'Scrupulously researched, with much new material' -- Literary Review 'Her biography is enjoyable and even gripping' -- Sunday Telegraph 'Sally Cline's book is an excellent one' -- Kathryn Hughes, Literary Review 'Impressively researched and imaginatively written' -- Sunday Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing (September 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559707186
• ISBN-13: 978-1559707183
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This latest bio ranks as one of the best, June 17, 2004

By 

Sara M. Kay "pagan bookworm" (Newport, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise (Hardcover)

If you take the time and read every other biography out there about Zelda Fitzgerald, you will notice something strange. While every one covers the same person and materials, not every biography is exactly the same. Nancy Milford's "Zelda" reads like a Fitzgerald novel- beautiful, careless and tragic. Kendall Taylor's "Sometimes Madness is Wisdom" focuses more on Zelda as an individual with multiple flaws and multiple talents, and also destroys the mythical love story that everyone thought was "Scott and Zelda". Sally Cline's "Her Voice in Paradise" expands on Kendall Taylor's basic concept but makes it all her own with such detailed research and weaving all of the broken stories together into one beautiful mosaic.

I would list this as THE best biography written about Zelda...well, actually this ties for first place with Kendall Taylor's bio, which is equally brilliant but on a totally different level. Read both and you get two separate layers of Zelda's short and complicated life. Any pity or admiration that you felt for Scott before reading either of these will most certainly vanish, for these books do not paint him as the romantic character that his legend portrays. In these he is an equally flawed human being much like Zelda, but a man whose lifelong coverup of his insecurities included alcohol abuse and adultery.

So in conclusion, if you are a voracious reader with a thirst for knowledge and devouring every detail into your mind, I would recommend that you buy this book immediately.

25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The troubled belle, April 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise (Hardcover)

...

In the summer of 1919, during the courtship that would lead to marriage the following year, Zelda Sayre wrote Scott Fitzgerald a letter in which she observed,"Men think I'm purely decorative, and they're just fools for not knowing better . . . I love being rather unfathomable . . . Men love me cause I'm pretty  and they're always afraid of mental wickedness  and men love me cause I'm clever and they're always afraid of my prettiness  One or two have even loved me cause I'm lovable, and then, of course, I was acting."
Well before her celebrated marriage, Zelda was nothing if not elusive  and a master of the non sequitur besides. In "Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise," Sally Cline makes use of the linguistic romps found in her subject's letters, diaries and novels in a way that allows the reader to hear the voice of one of the Jazz Age's most celebrated and controversial women. That voice, arguably the best guide to Zelda's complex mind is a remarkable one, and by relying on it the biographer has created a narrative that pulses with vivid, angry, joyous, despairing immediacy. In Ms. Cline's treatment the unfathomable Zelda becomes less so.
Ms. Cline straightforwardly relates Zelda's upbringing as a Southern belle, her courtship and marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald, their life together as his career took flight, the birth of their daughter Scottie, Scott's alcoholism, the disintegration of the marriage and her madness and subsequent hospitalization for the still debated diagnosis of schizophrenia. Accounts of the various treatments Zelda endured while hospitalized, which included electro-shock therapy and injections of horse serum, are appalling.
The author is at pains not to tinker with the historical record the way Nancy Milford did in her1970 biography of Zelda, written at the height of feminist revisionism and what-ifs. Ms. Cline is very clear that in writing this book she hoped to show that "during Zelda's life her ballet, like her writing and painting, was subsumed under the greater interest of her marriage. As Zelda's biographer, I have tried to balance the account." What that means for the book is greater exposure to these endeavors. While the biographer makes a convincing case that Zelda was a fine writer, she is less persuasive about the merits of her dancing (begun at the age of 27) and her painting.
Ms. Cline does a masterful job of presenting the intoxicating (and intoxicated) sights, sounds and fixations of Jazz Age America from New York to Hollywood, with significant detours to Scott Fitzgerald's Minnesota, and back again. The writing is strong, the research exhaustive. Close to 100 pages of notes follow the book's index.
Zelda Sayre was born in Montgomery, Ala. on July 12, 1900. Her father was a judge and though not wealthy the family occupied a home in that part of town where old money thrived. Zelda quickly became part of a social set that included the city's wealthiest and most beautiful girls, and several of the friendships forged in childhood would remain with her throughout her life. These included Tallulah Bankhead (who became a Hollywood star) and Sara Haardt, a writer who married H.L Mencken.
Zelda met Scott in 1917 "when Montgomery was besieged by soldiers from nearby Camp Sheridan and aviators from Camp Taylor." The circumstance of war gave Zelda and her friends more social opportunities. As one of friends recalled, "We had a different date every night of the week. One night there was a young fellow from St. Paul, Minnesota. He was a blonde first lieutenant of the 67th Infantry, whom she would later draw as a paper doll with pink shirt, red tie and brown angel's wings."
Change came quickly and not always harmoniously into their lives. "Romance in Montgomery had seen Zelda as a celebrity dominating a struggling writer. Marriage in New York changed that. Scott was no longer struggling and she was no longer a celebrity. He had friends while she had none. Nor her family. "
Scott's ascendancy, while nearly overwhelming the marriage, also made it possible for Zelda to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in New York's best hotels. Though burdened with debt and the inability to keep one residence after another in order (as a bona fide Southern belle, Zelda never learned how to be a good housekeeper), the couple, become famous, partied with even greater frequency and intensity and counted among their friends (and enemies) the most illustrious men and women of the day.
John Dos Passos, Edmund Wilson, Dorothy Parker, H.L Mencken, Ernest Hemingway come alive in these pages. And Zelda, far from being simply the flapper goddess of one myth or the unreconstructed harpy of another, proves to be both  and talented, genuinely talented, too. But the marriage was filled with violent argument.
One of the most striking of these came during Zelda's hospitalization and the publication of "Save Me the Waltz" was at issue. The confrontation was strong and required the intervention of one of Zelda's doctor's, Dr. Thomas Rennie, who acted as mediator, with a stenographer present. At the height of the battle, "Scott could not contain himself. 'So you are taking my material, is that right?'
"'Is that your material' Zelda asked. The asylums? The madness? the terrors? Were they yours?' Funny, she hadn't noticed.
"'Everything we have done is mine. If we make a trip . . . and you and I go around  I am the professional novelist and I am supporting you. That is all my material. None of it is your material.'" And around they went. The irony is that Scott helped himself to Zelda's diary entries and letters for verbatim use in some of his earlier novels, a habit Ms. Cline substantiates.
The sparks that flew between the pair persisted until Scott's death in 1940.
In truth, after that event, the book loses some of its appeal, perhaps because the tension of the legendary marriage is removed, the dark passion dimmed. The book ends with the couple reunited in death. In a cemetery in Rockville, Md., they are buried side by side.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read for reference, not for fun, July 19, 2003

By 

"skc_33" (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise (Hardcover)

If you prefer to read a biography like you would read a work of literature, this is not the book for you.

This book is not enjoyable; it reads like a dissertation. Every few sentences are cited from some other source, mostly using direct quotes, leading me to believe that the author never learned the art of rewriting something in her own words. I respect the fact that she did a lot of research, but I don't want to be reminded of it in every paragraph. When the author actually bothers to use her own words, the prose doesn't flow and relies too much on heavy descriptive phrases. Too much time is spent giving lengthy biographies of other incidental characters like the Hemingways, the Menckens, and Dos Passos.

The constant reference numbers are very distracting, as is the perpetual adoration for Zelda herself. The author makes reference to Zelda's "madness" via quotes from the Fitzgeralds' contemporaries, and then immediately discredits the source as jealous or influenced by time or some other excuse.

The book would be a slightly better read if the reader was allowed to make judgments for him/herself.

I might recommend this book to someone who was doing research on Zelda Fitzgerald (or other '20s-'30s personalities) for a paper, but I would not recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading.