Episode 52: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Duration: 00:44:09 | Recorded on May 16, 2025

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Born in 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald published his first novel, This Side of Paradise, when he was 23. He would go on to become a Jazz Age celebrity and his short stories and novels captured the exuberance, excess, and irony of the era.

For all of its sparkle, Fitzgerald’s work is also thoughtful, yearning, and poignant. His classic novel, The Great Gatsby, is a rueful examination of the American Dream and, ultimately, its emptiness. Fitzgerald, too, experienced the elusiveness of this dream. After his initial flash of success, he struggled with his finances, marriage, and health, dying at age 44.

For this episode, we are joined by two writers who recently published novels that engage with Fitzgerald’s work. Claire Anderson-Wheeler is the author of The Gatsby Gambit, a reinvention of the classic tale with a murder mystery twist. And Sash Bischoff is the author of Sweet Fury, a thought-provoking thriller in conversation with Fitzgerald’s body of work. You can learn more about them in the episode description below.

Claire and Sash are interviewed by Nate King, Content & Exhibits Manager at the American Writers Museum. This conversation originally took place May 2, 2025 and was recorded over Zoom.

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CLAIRE ANDERSON-WHEELER is an Irish writer currently based in Providence, Rhode Island, with her husband, an artist. She has previously lived in New York, London, Dublin, Brussels, and Geneva.

SASH BISCHOFF is a writer and theater director. She has written plays that have been developed at theaters throughout the US. As a director, she has worked on Broadway and off. Broadway/National Tours include Dear Evan Hansen, The Visit, On the Town, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Shrek. Sash grew up as an actor and won the National Arts Award (NFAA) for Acting. She currently lives in New York with her husband and their many pets. Sweet Fury is her first novel.

Listen to the podcast episode HERE.