Have you ever wondered what the space looks like that F. Scott Fitzgerald revised his first novel, This Side of Paradise? The semi-autbiographical novel about his undergraduate years at Princeton became one of the best selling novels of 1920. Fitzgerald returned to 599 Summit Avenue in the Spring of 1919 to revise the manuscript after it had been rejected by Scribners. To win Zelda's hand in marriage he needed to prove he could support her, and by the fall of 1919 the rewrite proved successful and was published in March of the following year. Fitzgerald's parents gave him the third floor space at the top of the stairs to work during the summer of 1919. The writing room was comfortable, private, and had the convenience of a balcony for smoking breaks. A speaking tube served as a communication device so that he could order up daily necessities -like lunch - from his mother in the kitchen below. Check out the gallery of images below:
