F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tony Tanner (Notes by)

The Great Gatsby

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Summary

'A classic, perhaps the supreme American novel' Sunday Times, Books of the Century

'It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life'

Jay Gatsby is the man who has everything. But one thing will always be out of his reach ... Everybody who is anybody is seen at his glittering parties. Day and night his Long Island mansion buzzes with bright young things drinking, dancing and debating his mysterious character. For Gatsby - young, handsome, fabulously rich - always seems alone in the crowd, watching and waiting, though no one knows what for. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. And soon this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel.

About the author

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Fitzgerald was born in 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and educated at Princeton. Stationed in Alabama, he met and later married Zelda Sayre. His first novel, This Side of Paradise, was published in 1920 and was a tremendous critical and commercial success. Fitzgerald followed with The Beautiful and the Damned in 1922, The Great Gatsby in 1925 and Tender is the Night in 1934. He was working on The Last Tycoon (1941) when he died, in Hollywood, in 1940.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald was born in 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and educated at Princeton. Stationed in Alabama, he met and later married Zelda Sayre. His first novel, This Side of Paradise, was published in 1920 and was a tremendous critical and commercial success. Fitzgerald followed with The Beautiful and the Damned in 1922, The Great Gatsby in 1925 and Tender is the Night in 1934. He was working on The Last Tycoon (1941) when he died, in Hollywood, in 1940.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularized in his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. Although he achieved temporary popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald received critical acclaim only after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940). Best known for The Great Gatsby (1925) and The Beautiful and Damned (1922), the main themes of his work were love, society and class, aspiration, and loss. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 24,1896, his father, Edward was from Maryland and his mother, Mary McQuillan was the daughter of an Irish immigrant. His first interaction with the art of storytelling was when a detective story he wrote was published in the school newspaper when he was thirteen. He moved to New York City to pursue his literary career. His work belongs with the best of his contemporaries.

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