On a spring night in March 1948, one of Alabama’s most interesting historical characters lost her life in a tragic fire, also claiming the lives of eight other patients in a well-known North Carolina psychiatric facility.

That night, socialite Zelda Fitzgerald’s fascinating, yet all too short life came to an end. The enigmatic Fitzgerald was an artist, writer and inspiration for much of the works of her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald. She passed away at the young age of 48, and Ms. Fitzgerald’s sad end is only equaled by the untimely death of her novelist husband some eight years earlier.

Overall, their lives together epitomize the complexity of the Roaring Twenties as they found success and heartbreak interchangeably throughout their lives together. Their early deaths further exemplify the bittersweet undertones of the Lost Generation.

Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald was born on July 24, 1900 in Montgomery, the youngest daughter of Alabama Supreme Court Justice Anthony Dickson Sayre and his wife Minnie Buckner Sayre. From her early life forward, it was clear that Zelda was not an ordinary child reared by a commonplace family. Her bloodline was anything but obscure.

She was the descendant of well-known members of the community and prominent members of local, state and national governments. Zelda's father’s uncle was William Sayre, whose home became the first White House of the Confederacy.

Her mother’s family boasted illustrious members from Kentucky — some of whom played a role in the Confederate government.

In the summer of 1918, Zelda first met F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was then a young army officer stationed at a nearby base. They began dating, and Fitzgerald soon approached Zelda for her hand in marriage. Zelda, on the other hand, was apprehensive about Fitzgerald’s future as an unproven writer and sought to delay any nuptials.

Two years after their first meeting the two were married and began what proved to be a short and tumultuous life together. It was also in 1920 that Fitzgerald’s first novel, “This Side of Paradise,” was published, launching him into the limelight for the first time. The publication, in turn, propelled Zelda into the public eye as she was seen as the inspiration for one of the characters in the book.

From that point forward, at least during Fitzgerald’s successful period, Zelda was thought to be more than a mere muse. Many saw her as more of a partner to the up-and-coming novelist and credited her with more than inspiration. Whatever her depth of involvement in his work, Zelda sought her own creative identity as well.

Throughout the 1920s, Zelda attempted to succeed her own right through a variety of avenues. She sought out the stage through her efforts as a professional ballerina, but failed, proving to be pedestrian at best. She then focused on art, only to fall flat in front of the critics of the day. This failure to achieve taxed her relationship with Fitzgerald and threatened her physical and mental health.

By 1930, Zelda began to seek out medical help for her ever progressing mental issues. She traveled to Europe to find help for what had been diagnosed as schizophrenia. In the end, she also sought help in clinics in the United States.

The 1930s witnessed the Fitzgeralds' separation, but they never divorced. Zelda continued to write, hoping to publish her own works as her husband had previously done. She did finally succeed, although limitedly with the publication of “Save me the Waltz,” which revealed her frazzled life with Fitzgerald.

Meanwhile Fitzgerald’s issues with alcohol plagued him more and more. He sank into alcoholism, which adversely affected both his writing and his health. Finally, Zelda settled into Highland Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, where she spent much of the last eight years of her life hoping to find a way to cope with her mental problems.

From 1940 to 1948 the world imploded around Zelda. In December of 1940, Fitzgerald died of a heart attack after trying his hand at screen writing in Hollywood. It is almost certain that his years of heavy drinking sped up his demise.

Eight years later, Zelda perished in a fire at Highland Hospital. In her 48 short years, Zelda had achieved national and international fame, but not for the reasons she desired. She became a symbol of her era, only to have her mental and physical frailties destroy her much as the Great Depression destroyed the perception of the Roaring Twenties.