S6·E18 F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great American Dreamer

The episode traces the brilliant yet turbulent life of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the novelist whose work came to define the Jazz Age. It follows his rise from a promising young writer to a literary sensation with the publication of This Side of Paradise, and explores his passionate, complicated marriage to Zelda Sayre, whose spirit and struggles deeply shaped his fiction. The program highlights Fitzgerald’s creation of The Great Gatsby, his most enduring masterpiece, and examines the personal demons—alcoholism, financial instability, and fading fame—that haunted him in later years. Through archival footage, expert commentary, and dramatized scenes, the episode portrays Fitzgerald as a gifted but fragile artist whose pursuit of the American Dream mirrored the triumphs and tragedies of his own life.