Flappers and Philosophers

Bernice is turned into a proper society girl by her more desirable cousin, who feels Bernice is a drag on her social life. But when Bernice starts to win over all the boys in town, the girls turn viciously against each other. Based on letters F. Scott Fitzgerald originally sent to his little sister advising her on how to be more attractive to men, ‘Bernice Bobs Her Hair’ is one of eight vivid stories in Fitzgerald’s first short story collection. In another, ‘The Off-Shore Pirate’, a girl gets captured by pirates and falls in love with the captain. It was adapted into a romantic comedy and starred silent movie actress Viola Dana. ‘Flappers and Philosophers’ (1920) are tales about young dreamers whose dreams get broken, tales which perfectly encompass the zeitgeist of the 1920s.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) is one of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century and author of the classics ‘Tender is the Night’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’. His writing helped illustrate the 1920s Jazz Age that he and wife Zelda Fitzgerald were in the centre of.