Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896, into a middle-class family. Fitzgerald’s father, Edward, failed as a manufacturer and salesman, so the family lived off his mother’s income. Fitzgerald began writing when he was 13 and began his first year at Princeton in 1917. He gave up academic pursuits in favor of literary ones, writing poetry and prose for Princeton’s literary magazine and writing scripts and lyrics for the university’s Triangle Club.

In 1917, Fitzgerald joined the army and became a second lieutenant in the infantry. During this time, he began “The Romantic Egotist,” a first draft that would eventually become This Side of Paradise. He finished this piece quickly, fearing he would die fighting in WWI. Scribner’s Sons rejected his draft but asked Fitzgerald to revise and resubmit it. Fitzgerald then moved to Montgomery, Alabama, for an army assignment in June 1918. Here, he met Zelda Sayre, daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court Judge. The couple fell in love and quickly became engaged.

The army discharged Fitzgerald in 1919, the year after WWI ended. He moved to New York to seek his fortune but failed to make enough money, so Zelda broke off their engagement.