The Basil and Josephine Stories
Encyclopedia
The Basil and Josephine Stories are a collection of short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald
. The title characters were intended by Fitzgerald to meet each other but this never happened in his literature.
In various correspondences Fitzgerald expressed admiration for the Lee stories, based on a young man's life in the Midwest. Josephine is a sultry character who is presented as a headstrong woman. Some critics have theorized she is based on his wife Zelda Fitzgerald
.
, Josephine understands her academic problems will sort themselves out on their own.
Both characters find true love is alluring but fleeting and both stories detail the evolution of each particular character's destiny, whether they like it or not.
, he wrote these stories while reflecting on his youth in the Midwest. The Saturday Evening Post
published the bulk of both the Basil and Josephine stories providing Fitzgerald with an ample regular paycheck. He noted the character's typified what he called "emotional bankruptcy" and it was during this time he also wanted to claim a part of his past he once cherished, while resenting the nefarious influence of class distinctions and sell-outs in the world.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
. The title characters were intended by Fitzgerald to meet each other but this never happened in his literature.
In various correspondences Fitzgerald expressed admiration for the Lee stories, based on a young man's life in the Midwest. Josephine is a sultry character who is presented as a headstrong woman. Some critics have theorized she is based on his wife Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald , born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama, was an American novelist and the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was an icon of the 1920s—dubbed by her husband "the first American Flapper"...
.
Stories
The Basil stories detail the emotional growth of a character named Basil Lee who starts as a young man living in the Midwest and ends up, by the age of 17 he is ready to enter the world of Yale. Throughout the stories he is unaware of his potential until the moment he is about to lose it. Josephine Perry is described as a "Chicago Girl" whose family has a prominent role in society. This allows her to make decisions without fear of consequences. For example, when she is expelled from school she is reinstated because of her father's influence. Unlike other rebellious teenagers, such as Holden CaulfieldHolden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield is the 16-to-17 years old protagonist of author J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. He is universally recognized for his resistance to growing older and desire to protect childhood innocence...
, Josephine understands her academic problems will sort themselves out on their own.
Both characters find true love is alluring but fleeting and both stories detail the evolution of each particular character's destiny, whether they like it or not.
History
Fitzgerald wrote these stories circa 1928, when he was bucking the pressure to write a sequel to The Great Gatsby. Toiling over Tender is the NightTender is the Night
Tender Is the Night is a novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was his fourth and final completed novel, and was first published in Scribner's Magazine between January-April, 1934 in four issues...
, he wrote these stories while reflecting on his youth in the Midwest. The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
published the bulk of both the Basil and Josephine stories providing Fitzgerald with an ample regular paycheck. He noted the character's typified what he called "emotional bankruptcy" and it was during this time he also wanted to claim a part of his past he once cherished, while resenting the nefarious influence of class distinctions and sell-outs in the world.