Zelda Fitzgerald (July 24, 1900 - March 10, 1948), born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama, was the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, whom she married in 1920. She published an autobiographical novel, Save Me the Waltz, in 1932. Considered by many of her era to embody the quintessential flapper, Fitzgerald gained notoriety as much for her own exploits and demise as for her role in inspiring many of her husband's most famous characters, especially Nicole Diver of Tender is the Night.
In 1930 she suffered her first mental breakdown, which eventually led to her being sent to a mental hospital. She died at the age of 47 in a fire at the Highland Mental Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina. Eight other patients were also killed.
