A tale worth telling

Re “She lent Fitzgerald her hand,” Column One, June 8

How sadly ironic that some of the letters Frances Kroll Ring probably typed for F. Scott Fitzgerald when he was down and out are now selling on the Internet for thousands of dollars.

As an example, I see that the asking price on a booksellers’ website for the 1939 letter that a cash-strapped Fitzgerald wrote to Isabel Horton, wife of actor Edward E. Horton (from whom Fitzgerald rented a cottage in Encino), politely asking for a reduction in his rent, is $15,000.

If only Fitzgerald had known.

Leora Krygier

Encino

I would like to compliment David Ulin for his fine article on Frances Ring and her relationship with F. Scott Fitzgerald in his last years.

This story makes me want to know more about his tragic life. Compliments to The Times for encouraging this kind of reporting of literature’s characters and legacy.

Paul L. Hovsepian

Sierra Madre

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Thank you for your beautifully written story about Ring and for keeping it her story. You drew me in and kept me to the last word.

Linda L. Mann

Los Angeles

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I hope your article will inspire me to accomplish something that others find worthy of remembering some 70 years down the road.

David Claiborne

Woodland Hills

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Your story about Ring, Fitzgerald’s typist for his final novel, “The Last Tycoon,” was equal parts heartbreaking and heartening. What a rare peek into the final days of one of our greatest writers and my personal favorite.

Ring sounds delightful, a true individual so lovingly depicted in your article.

John Moore

Fort Worth

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What a thoughtful article. I was grateful for your depiction of the frantic Fitzgerald, desperate for money to keep Zelda cared for and Scottie in school.

Last semester, when I taught “Gatsby,” I shared with the class that wrenching letter to his daughter, describing disintegration: of his marriage to Zelda, of Zelda herself and of his dream.

I also told the class that, when I first read “The Last Tycoon,” I was so drawn in that I forgot the story was unfinished. I endured a dreadful letdown on turning to Page 100.

George O’Brien

Los Angeles

The writer teaches in the English department at Mount St. Mary’s College.