The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by
American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of
characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long
Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and
mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the
beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The
Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism,
resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of
the Jazz Age that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding
the American Dream.
Fitzgerald, inspired by
the parties he had attended while visiting Long Island's north shore, began
planning the novel in 1923 desiring to produce, in his words,
"something new—something extraordinary and beautiful and
simple and intricately patterned." Progress was slow with Fitzgerald
completing his first draft following a move to the French Riviera in
1924. His editor, Maxwell Perkins, felt the book was too vague and
convinced the author to revise over the next winter. Fitzgerald was ambivalent
about the book's title, at various times wishing to re-title the novel Trimalchio in
West Egg.
First published
by Scribner's in April 1925, The Great Gatsby received
mixed reviews and sold poorly; in its first year, the book sold only 20,000
copies. Fitzgerald died in 1940, believing himself to be a failure and his work
forgotten. His work, spearheaded by The Great Gatsby, experienced a
revival during World War II, and the novel became a part of American
high school curricula in the following decades. The book has remained popular
since, leading to numerous stage and film adaptations. The Great Gatsby is
widely considered to be a literary classic and a contender for the title
"Great American Novel". The book is consistently ranked among the
greatest works of American literature.
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