That's when F. Scott published his first novel, This Side of Paradise. Overnight, F. Scott became a hit, and following the publication Zelda finally married him. Throughout the next years the newly wed couple spent their time and fortune on extravagant parties. People would even say that it was not a party unless the two of them made an appearance. As time went on, Fitzgerald was paid to write for newspapers and magazines. Fitzgerald realized he needed another novel and then began working on his second novel, The Beautiful and Damned. The works following his second novel never reached their full admiration until well after Fitzgerald had passed away. With the failure of his last two novels, Fitzgerald drank himself away and Zelda was institutionalized with schizophrenia. Fitzgerald later died of a heart attack at the age of forty-four and fully believed that he was a failure. His works were later re-examined in the fifties and that's when he was recognized as one of the best writers of all American history.
Fitzgerald's work all had similar plots and themes. They were often about a poor man trying to win the heart of a rich girl. A lot of his novels also mirrored his life and the downward spiral of his marriage with Zelda. F. Scott celebrated youth in his novels and that's what made them so great. He captured the idea of the great American Dream and the idea of true love and his audience went crazy for his stories. When F. Scott died he was in the middle of working on a new novel when death struck him. He died a forgotten name, but many say he knew that when the time came fame would once again light up Fitzgerald's name - and it did. After Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, he became acquainted with Ernest Hemingway while in Paris. The two became drinking buddies, but underneath lied a layer of jealousy and rivalry. Each writer was different in his own way, and both admired what each other lacked.