Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald has long been a romantic figure in American literature--the beautiful Southern belle-turned-flapper, the glamorous wife of F. Scott, the tragic madwoman. Few readers would ever think of her as a writer. Yet from 1922 to 1934, she published a novel, a play, short stories, and magazine articles. This first comprehensive collection of her work is much more than a literary curiosity. Compiled by noted Fitzgerald scholar Bruccoli, it represents Zelda's attempt to find her own creative identity separate from her status as the wife of a famous novelist. Included are her haunting novel Save Me the Waltz , her "farce fantasy" play Scan dalabra, semi-autobiographical stories and articles, and letters written to her husband from the passionate days of their courtship to the bitterness and sadness of Zelda's mental breakdown. While much of her prose is overblown with almost surrealistic descriptions, making for sometimes difficult reading, there is an original mind and wit at work here. The tragedy is that her mental state (she wrote many of these pieces after her 1930 breakdown) prevented her from developing her craft as writer. Highly recommended for literature collections. -Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"