In a book club and starting to plan your reads for next year? Check out our 2025 picks.

Summary and Reviews of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

by Therese Anne Fowler
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Mar 26, 2013, 352 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Mar 2014, 384 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About This Book

Book Summary

A dazzling novel that captures all of the romance, glamour, and tragedy of the first flapper, Zelda Fitzgerald.

When beautiful, reckless Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fitzgerald at a country club dance in 1918, she is seventeen years old and he is a young army lieutenant stationed in Alabama. Before long, the "ungettable" Zelda has fallen for him despite his unsuitability: Scott isn't wealthy or prominent or even a Southerner, and keeps insisting, absurdly, that his writing will bring him both fortune and fame.

Her father is deeply unimpressed. But after Scott sells his first novel, This Side of Paradise, to Scribner's, Zelda optimistically boards a train north, to marry him in the vestry of St. Patrick's Cathedral and take the rest as it comes.

1

Picture a late-June morning in 1918, a time when Montgomery wore her prettiest spring dress and finest floral perfume—same as I would wear that evening. Our house, a roomy Victorian on Pleasant Avenue, was wrapped in the tiny white blooms of Confederate jasmine and the purple splendor of morning glories. It was a Saturday, and early yet, and cloudy. Birds had congregated in the big magnolia tree and were singing at top volume as if auditioning to be soloists in a Sunday choir.

From our back stairway's window I saw a slow horse pulling a rickety wagon. Behind it walked two colored women who called out the names of vegetables as they went. Beets! Sweet peas! Turnips! they sang, louder even than the birds.

"Hey, Katy," I said, coming into the kitchen. "Bess and Clara are out there, did you hear 'em?" On the wide wooden table was a platter covered by a dish towel. "Plain?" I asked hopefully, reaching beneath the towel for a biscuit.

"No, cheese—now, don't make that...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. Why do you think Zelda refused to marry Scott until he'd made a name for himself? Was she manipulating him?

  2. Zelda didn't seem to care how her parents felt about her unstable relationship with Scott and how it might ruin her reputation. Did they have a valid point, considering the time period?

  3. What do you think was behind Scott's alcoholism? Was it due to his rocky relationship with Zelda or did he drink to fit in with the crowd?

  4. How do you feel about Scott selling Zelda's short stories under both their names? Why wouldn't he let Zelda publish under her own name?

  5. Which of Zelda's talents were her strongest? Which would you most like to possess?

  6. Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for...
Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers!

Here are some of the comments posted about Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald.
You can see the full discussion here.


Are you planning to see the new film adaptation of 'The Great Gatsby,' or have you already seen it?
I saw it last weekend. I thought it was amazing! To me, they totally nailed the spirit and themes of the book. - lisag

As you read "Z", have you approached it from a new perspective about an iconic couple from history or has your previous knowledge of the Fitzgerald's clouded your assestment of the novel?
Karenr, I like your point re: if Zelda had lived at a different time she may have had more opportunity to become a writer separate from her husband, to step out from under his shadow. I'm inclined to think there would have at least been a better ... - lisag

Aside from her initial allurement of Scott, what do you think first marked her inflatuation with him? To the brink that she wanted to be with him as he began his adventure towards a literary career?!
For me, her infatuation with him came from the fact that he was an outsider, from another town and so unlike the people she knew growing up. Therein lies the attraction. - dianac

Did Scott's treatment of Zelda while she was in hospital make him any more sympathetic to you?
Nothing in Scott's treatment of Zelda or anyone else would have made him more sympathetic to me. The book portrays him as an arrogant, egocentric, chauvinist who was also a raging alcoholic. - dianac

Did Zelda's parents have a valid point about her relationship with Scott, considering the time period?
As backward as her parents were in many ways, their point about Scott was spot on. They could see the train wreck before it happened. - dianac

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

I absolutely loved Therese Ann Fowler’s charting of the Fitzgeralds’ relationship – the fairy-tale young love, the giddy first years of marriage, the gradual disillusionments piled richly one on top of the other, and the eventual complete unraveling of the relationship. It’s deeply tragic because both Scott and Zelda are so deeply talented yet so fundamentally flawed. Right until the end, you can sense their deep and abiding love of one another even as they become increasingly toxic for each other...continued

Full Review Members Only (1099 words)

(Reviewed by Poornima Apte).

Media Reviews

RT Book Reviews
With lyrical prose, Fowler's Z beautifully portrays the frenzied lives of, and complicated relationship between, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald...This is a novel that will open readers' minds to the life of an often misunderstood woman—one not easily forgotten.

Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. Fowler has given us a lovely, sad and compulsively readable book.

Library Journal
A tender, intimate exploration of a complicated woman.

Author Blurb Publishers Weekly
Jazz Age legends F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald come into focus in Fowler's rich debut.

Author Blurb Caroline Leavitt
A novel that is as heartbreaking as it is mesmerizing. About love, desire, betrayal, and one extraordinary woman struggling to shine in the world - even as the one she loves best is drawing the shades. Just magnificent.

Author Blurb Heidi W. Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
A wonderfully engaging read. With crisp dialogue and vivid descriptions, Z delivers both a compelling love story and a poignant tale of a woman coming into her own as an artist.

Author Blurb Sara Gruen
An utterly engrossing portrayal of Zelda Fitzgerald and the legendary circles in which she moved. In the spirit of Loving Frank and The Paris Wife, Therese Anne Fowler shines a light on Zelda instead of her more famous husband, providing both justice and the voice she struggled to have heard in her lifetime.

Reader Reviews

Mina Christina

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
This was a great read. The differences between Scott and Zelda is immense as he is a scruffy guy from the up North and she is a Southern Belle. Their lifestyle and the need to impress Scott's peers are what set them up for a difficult marriage. Upon ...   Read More
Karen R

Excellent story
Beautiful Zelda Sayre, a wealthy, fiery and spoiled Southern Belle met her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald, an Army man and budding novelist, shortly after she finished high school. This thoughtfully written book takes us on their life’s journey, through...   Read More
Shof

The Other Side of Paradise
Like most readers, "The Great Gatsby" was my Fitzgerald source. I also knew Scott became an alcoholic and Zelda ended up in a home for people with mental problems and that is pretty much it. Therese Fowler filled in the gaps in this well...   Read More
Elizabeth G.

I'll Take Zelda
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight in Paris." It was very interesting, having a degree in literature, and learning more about ...   Read More

Write your own review!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book



American Expat Writers in Paris

The period between the two World Wars was one of thriving creativity for many artists, and Paris with its bohemian lifestyle, its recognition of artists, and vibrant social life offered plenty of enticements to American writers. The fact that the United States passed Prohibition laws in 1920, banning the sale of alcohol, didn't hurt the migration to Paris either. Among the many who moved to the City of Light were F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, and Ernest Hemingway whose mentor, Gertrude Stein, was a permanent fixture on the expat literary scene.

Gertrude Stein with Ernest Hemingway's son Jack in 1924Stein labeled this group of expat writers as "The Lost Generation" – writers who were adrift after World War I and were trying to find a set of values they could believe in. Their ...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, try these:

  • The Roaring Days of Zora Lily jacket

    The Roaring Days of Zora Lily

    by Noelle Salazar

    Published 2023

    About this book

    The discovery of a hidden label on a famous gown unearths the story of a talented young seamstress in this glittering novel of family, love, ambition, and self discovery by the USA Today bestselling author of The Flight Girls.

  • Trust jacket

    Trust

    by Hernan Diaz

    Published 2023

    About this book

    More by this author

    An unparalleled novel about money, power, intimacy, and perception.

We have 23 read-alikes for Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Therese Anne Fowler
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens
    by Raul Palma
    Raul Palma's debut novel A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens introduces Hugo Contreras, who came to the ...
  • Book Jacket
    The MANIAC
    by Benjamin Labatut
    The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut is an ambitious work that falls squarely into the category of fiction...
  • Book Jacket: Blood Test
    Blood Test
    by Charles Baxter
    Brock Hobson is a loving single father, a Sunday School teacher, and an upstanding and honest ...
  • Book Jacket: The Barn
    The Barn
    by Wright Thompson
    The barn doesn't reek of catastrophe at first glance. It is on the southwest quarter of Section 2, ...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Libby Lost and Found
    by Stephanie Booth

    Libby Lost and Found is a book for people who don't know who they are without the books they love.

Who Said...

We should have a great fewer disputes in the world if words were taken for what they are

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

H I O the G

and be entered to win..