Tag: Tellwell

Writers of the Jazz Age

Writers of the Jazz Age

Novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald

I love the imagery and depiction of the 1920’s idol rich in The Great Gatsby, so I read Tender is the Night, another of Fitzgerald’s novels written post WWI. The writing style is very different to that in The Great Gatsby and difficult initially to become immersed in. But I persisted and found this tragic love story very haunting and beautiful. This Jazz Age novel interested me for another reason. I set my novel, The Last Hotel (Tellwell) in Beaulieu-sur-Mer which is where the opening chapter of Tender is the Night is also set but of course a century earlier. I was so surprised when I read the opening lines of the novel.

“On the pleasant shore of the French Riviera, almost halfway between Marseilles and the Italian border, stands a large, proud, rose-colored hotel.’

How’s that for coincidence! A hotel!

Except that my hotel is neither large nor pink. But it could be considered proud due the quality of its occupants, my lovely characters.

The French Riviera and Writers of the Jazz Age

The 1920’s Riviera was a magnet for writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway to while away their summers mingling with other writers and artists. They would laze on the beaches glorying in the idyllic Mediterranean climate, and drink cocktails at sunset in their hotel bars. Somewhere in between they would pen a few words of their latest work in progress. To understand the frenetic jazz era, you must reflect on the horrors of WWI that wiped out a whole generation of young men. Then The Spanish Flu wiped out a heap more. The crazy pace and vanity of the 1920’s was a reaction to these tragedies. A sort of ’Live like you never have before’ mentality. We may see our own version of The Jazz Age once Covid-19 is over.

Who Was Francis Scott Fitzgerald?

Francis Scott Fitzgerald was born in 1896 in Minnesota. He was named after cousin, Francis Scott Key who wrote the lyrics to the American national anthem. ‘Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light…’etc. Fitzgerald entered Princeton in 1913 and apart from study, he wrote musicals. He dropped out in 1917 to enlist in the US Army and before going off to fight in WWI he submitted his first hastily finished manuscript, A Romantic Egoist, lest he die in the fighting. None of us writers have that sort of deadline!

Of course, he survived to write the novels This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night. He and Hemingway stole all the best book titles! None of these masterpieces sold well in his time and he spiraled into alcoholism beside his mentally ill wife Zelda. He sadly died an untimely death at just 44, never achieving full recognition for his beautiful haunting prose.

 Ernest Hemingway

Fitzgerald’s life rather parallels that of Ernest Hemingway, another American who went to Paris after WWI. Both men with accompanying women and alcohol issues liked to travel around while they wrote, often spending long periods in The Riviera. Hemingway also frequented Spain and was fond of bull fights and hunting. I find his books rather shocking in their depiction of cruelty to animals especially bulls. Neither does he write with the beautiful flowing prose of Fitzgerald but instead in a blunt, terse way. Possibly a man’s writer. He too stole all the best book titles. The Sun Also Rises, To Have and Have not, For Whom the Bell Tolls and Farewell to Arms. They sound wonderful but sadly though they sound inviting, his writing is not for me. But it is interesting to see the different styles of these writers of The Jazz Age.

Joni Scott is an Australian author with two published novels: Whispers through Time and The Last Hotel. Joni writes a weekly blog on her website; https://joniscottauthor.com.

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Reviews of The Last Hotel by Joni Scott

Reviews of The Last Hotel by Joni Scott

Here are some reviews of my second novel, The Last Hotel

Maureen’s Lifestyle Blog , 16/5/2021. It’s a New Day! The Last Hotel by Joni Scott

The Last Hotel is a heart warming romance novel about a young couple starting their life together, an older couple solidifying their union and yet another couple getting a second chance at love. The narrative falls into place naturally because it is a true account written by one of the guests who stayed at René’s hotel. However, names have been changed to protect the privacy of the characters. I rate this 5 out of 5. This is a hope filled, light hearted story that is sure to uplift your spirit. The world is opening up again, but things may never go back to how they used to be. This is a reminder to live our lives to the fullest despite the fact. Sometimes we need a pandemic to discover ourselves !

Samama Reza,   rated it as amazing

The Last Hotel is the first book I ever read that spoke about the pandemic, so when I say I haven’t read anything like this before, I MEAN IT.
The description of southern France given in this book was so beautifully written, that I actually felt like I was walking through the streets of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, enjoying their wonderful weather and eating the best baguettes and pastries while admiring their perfect view.
This book also gave me a deep insight on Europe; it gave me details on how the comforting vibe of that continent suddenly changed during the pandemic, how the friendly ambiance of Europe changed into a fearful one. The first chapters made me wish I could’ve visited Italy and France, the chapters that came next made me glad I hadn’t.

The pandemic was such a weird time

As I read about the coronavirus from this book, everything felt and sounded so surreal. I couldn’t believe it that we walked through a pandemic! It all sounded so weird and dystopian yet all of it was – and still is, very real, the corona virus is still out there, and it still is so scary.
In the future, when people forget how the pandemic actually changed the world, they can step back and read this book to remember! And the ones who did not exist in this era, can read this book in the future and get a glimpse of how life was during the LOCKDOWN.

But good things came from it too, like this lovely story

This book is about different people, with different backgrounds from different sides of the world getting locked in an unknown country and finding each other in The Last Hotel available – a small cozy hotel over a sweet smelling bakery that was next to a bookshop. The strangers, with time, became family and found love and new meaning in their lives in the process. They fell in love with France.

Although the lockdown brought new opportunities into the lives of the characters in the book to shine, it was so different for many people in real life. There were people who were depressed for the first time, because before the pandemic, they never had the time to think alone. There were also many people who wished for nothing but their loved ones to stay healthy, and there were many who ended up losing their loved ones too.
We can never forget, the pandemic might have been a refreshing newness for some, it was a terrible turn in life for many – and it still is.
Stay safe everyone, and take care of each other.

5/5 stars from me as I really enjoyed the book immensely!

Joni Scott is an Australian author with five published novels. Three are historical and based on true stories. The other two are contemporary romances. Visit Joni’s where you can meet her books and read the weekly blog.

 

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