E3: On This Day - 26 March 1911
March 26, 2020 marks the 100 year anniversary of the publication of This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel. It was a run away best seller catapulting a then 23 year old Scott Fitzgerald to fame and fortune. More importantly it was the key to getting Zelda Sayre to say “yes” and marrying him weeks later on April 3 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
Interestingly, coincidentally, the first significance appearance of Zelda Sayre in media was an interview of a 10 year old Zelda published on March 26, 1911. As we launch out on this journey to explore all things Zelda, we thought that this was the perfect starting point for the first two phases of her life. First, growing up in Montgomery, Alabama, and then meeting F. Scott Fitzgerald in the summer of 1918 and their courtship and relationship leading up to March 26, 1920.
In this episode we’ll discuss the details of Zelda’s interview with Marie Bankhead Owen, and then the other stories appearing in the Montgomery Advertiser on March 26, 1911 to give context to the city and world that was helping shape the future Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald.
This podcast is sponsored by Joel Sidney Kelly Portraiteur. Thank you to Joel Kelly for allowing us to use his beautiful portrait, Ann Royal (2013). For more info on having a portrait of your own, click here.
Links:
Alabama Governor O’Neal’s tribute to Dr. A.F. Owen, President of Tuskegee Institute
Josh Brolin in American Gangster or General Buckner?
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