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Novels and Stories 1920–1922: This Side of Paradise / Flappers and Philosophers / The Beautiful and Damned / Tales of the Jazz Age
At the outset of what he called “the greatest, the gaudiest spree in history,” F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the works that brought him instant fame, mastering the glittering aphoristic prose and keen social observation that would distinguish all his writing. Celebrating the riotous energy and naïve optimism of a generation that believed itself liberated from the past, Fitzgerald’s early works, which are collected in this Library of America volume, also sound a plaintive strain beneath the era’s wild cacophony, a lament for the wasted potential of youth. They remain the fullest literary expression of one of the most fascinating eras in American life.
This Side of Paradise (1920) gave Fitzgerald the early success that defined and haunted him for the rest of his career. Offering in its Princeton chapters the most enduring portrait of college life in American literature, this lyrical novel records the ardent and often confused longings of its hero’s struggles to find love and to formulate a philosophy of life.
Flappers and Philosophers (1920), a collection of accomplished short stories, includes such classics as “Dalyrimple Goes Wrong,” “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” and “The Ice Palace.”
Fitzgerald continues his dissection of a self-destructive era in his second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), as the self-styled aristocrat Anthony Patch and his beautiful wife, Gloria, are cut off from an inheritance and forced to endure the excruciating dwindling of their fortune. Here New York City, playground for the pleasure-loving Patches and brutal mirror of their dissipation, is portrayed more vividly than anywhere else in Fitzgerald’s work.
Tales of the Jazz Age (1922), his second collection of stories, includes the novella “May Day,” featuring interlocking tales of debutantes, soldiers, and socialists brought together in the uncertain aftermath of World War I, and “A Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” a fable in which the excesses of the Jazz Age take the hallucinatory form of a palace of unfathomable opulence hidden deep in the Montana Rockies.
This Side of Paradise (1920) gave Fitzgerald the early success that defined and haunted him for the rest of his career. Offering in its Princeton chapters the most enduring portrait of college life in American literature, this lyrical novel records the ardent and often confused longings of its hero’s struggles to find love and to formulate a philosophy of life.
Flappers and Philosophers (1920), a collection of accomplished short stories, includes such classics as “Dalyrimple Goes Wrong,” “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” and “The Ice Palace.”
Fitzgerald continues his dissection of a self-destructive era in his second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), as the self-styled aristocrat Anthony Patch and his beautiful wife, Gloria, are cut off from an inheritance and forced to endure the excruciating dwindling of their fortune. Here New York City, playground for the pleasure-loving Patches and brutal mirror of their dissipation, is portrayed more vividly than anywhere else in Fitzgerald’s work.
Tales of the Jazz Age (1922), his second collection of stories, includes the novella “May Day,” featuring interlocking tales of debutantes, soldiers, and socialists brought together in the uncertain aftermath of World War I, and “A Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” a fable in which the excesses of the Jazz Age take the hallucinatory form of a palace of unfathomable opulence hidden deep in the Montana Rockies.
1082 pages, Hardcover
Published August 28, 2000
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689 people want to read
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2,338 books25.6k followersFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald, widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, 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.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 28, 2009
I picked this up to read the short story "Curious Case of Benjamin Button" as I am interested in the movie. I plan to read the other stories also.
November 29, 2012
This book consists of several collections of short stories by Fitzgerald, namely ‘Flappers and Philosophers’ (1920), ‘Tales of the Jazz Age’ (1922), ‘All the Sad Young Men’ (1926), ‘Taps at Reveille’ (1935) and uncollected stories.
As with all short stories, some are hugely enjoyable and others less so. All of the stories however seem to have a melancholy, or an air of regret about them. Fitzgerald often wrote about disillusion and disappointment, but he did it so eloquently and beautifully that they were a pleasure to read even while you are commiserating with the protagonist.
My favourite stories were ‘Bernice Bobs Her Hair’, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ (which I have read before, but which I read again as part of this book, and again enjoyed greatly), ‘The Rough Crossing’ and the various Pat Hobby tales, which feature among the uncollected stories.
The only issue I have with short stories (any short stories, not just these) is that they tend to end rather abruptly; that is the case with some of the stories here, but the writing is so lovely to read that it really doesn’t matter. I prefer novels, where I can really get to know a character, but as short story writers go, Fitzgerald is up there with the best of them.
As with all short stories, some are hugely enjoyable and others less so. All of the stories however seem to have a melancholy, or an air of regret about them. Fitzgerald often wrote about disillusion and disappointment, but he did it so eloquently and beautifully that they were a pleasure to read even while you are commiserating with the protagonist.
My favourite stories were ‘Bernice Bobs Her Hair’, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ (which I have read before, but which I read again as part of this book, and again enjoyed greatly), ‘The Rough Crossing’ and the various Pat Hobby tales, which feature among the uncollected stories.
The only issue I have with short stories (any short stories, not just these) is that they tend to end rather abruptly; that is the case with some of the stories here, but the writing is so lovely to read that it really doesn’t matter. I prefer novels, where I can really get to know a character, but as short story writers go, Fitzgerald is up there with the best of them.
August 7, 2010
Mainly, just finished a reading of "Tales of the Jazz Age," and found them so interesting in a wartime-and-depression-era- time-sharing way. Scott Fitzgerald writes one liners that will make you stop and shake your head with the startling beauty they evoke. Please, find a volume or an ebook of these "Tales.." and read at least one for a Summer evening you can always remember. I recommend "Jellybean.." with a tall glass of lemonade w/mint.
January 8, 2025
f scott fitzgerald will always be one of my favorite authors and this side of paradise is a huge part of the reason why. it seems like every word put to the page is so deliberate in its purpose to evoke beauty and elegance. also, if you haven't, PLEASE read up on fitzgerald's relationship with ginevra king: it's a tragedy that will always live in my mind.
May 3, 2010
Gatsby who?
This Side of Paradise
Long after midnight the towers and spires of Princeton were visible, with here and there a late-burning light—and suddenly out of the clear darkness the sound of bells. As an endless dream it went on; the spirit of the past brooding over a new generation, the chosen youth from the muddled, unchastened world, still fed romantically on the same mistakes and half-forgotten dreams of dead statesmen and poets. Here was a new generation, shouting the old cries, learning the old creeds, through a revery of long days and nights; destined finally to go out into that dirty gray turmoil to follow love and pride; a new generation dedicated more than the last to the fear of poverty and the worship of success; grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken...
Flappers and Philosophers: “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”
People over forty can seldom be permanently convinced of anything. At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide.
“The Four Fists”
After a few years Samuel's university decided that it had shone long enough in the reflected glory of his neckties, so they declaimed to him in Latin, charged him ten dollars for the paper which proved him irretrievably educated, and sent him into the turmoil with much self-confidence, a few friends, and the proper assortment of harmless bad habits.
The Beautiful and Damned
Caramel would probably trot home and work on his book, which ought to be finished pretty soon.
Anthony was glad he wasn't going home to work on his book. The notion of sitting down and conjuring up, not only words in which to clothe thoughts but thoughts worthy of being clothed—the whole thing was absurdly beyond his desires.
Out of the deep sophistication of Anthony an understanding formed, nothing atavistic or obscure, indeed scarcely physical at all, an understanding remembered from the romancing of many generations of minds that as she talked and caught his eyes and turned her lovely head, she moved him as he had never been moved before. The sheath that held her soul had assumed significance—that was all. She was a sun, radiant, growing, gathering light and storing it—then after an eternity pouring it forth in a glance, the fragment of a sentence, to that part of him that cherished all beauty and all illusion.
Happiness, remarked Maury Noble one day, is only the first hour after the alleviation of some especially intense misery. But oh, Anthony's face as he walked down the tenth-floor corridor of the plaza that night! His dark eyes were gleaming—around his mouth were lines it was a kindness to see. He was handsome then if never before, bound for one of those immortal moments which come so radiantly that their remembered light is enough to see by for years.
After the sureties of youth there sets in a period of intense and intolerable complexity.
As the winter passed with the march of the returning troops along Fifth Avenue they became more and more aware that since Anthony's return their relations had entirely changed. After that reflowering of tenderness and passion each of them had returned into some solitary dream unshared by the other and what endearments passed between them passed, it seemed, from empty heart to empty heart, echoing hollowly the departure of what they knew at last was gone.
This Side of Paradise
Long after midnight the towers and spires of Princeton were visible, with here and there a late-burning light—and suddenly out of the clear darkness the sound of bells. As an endless dream it went on; the spirit of the past brooding over a new generation, the chosen youth from the muddled, unchastened world, still fed romantically on the same mistakes and half-forgotten dreams of dead statesmen and poets. Here was a new generation, shouting the old cries, learning the old creeds, through a revery of long days and nights; destined finally to go out into that dirty gray turmoil to follow love and pride; a new generation dedicated more than the last to the fear of poverty and the worship of success; grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken...
Flappers and Philosophers: “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”
People over forty can seldom be permanently convinced of anything. At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide.
“The Four Fists”
After a few years Samuel's university decided that it had shone long enough in the reflected glory of his neckties, so they declaimed to him in Latin, charged him ten dollars for the paper which proved him irretrievably educated, and sent him into the turmoil with much self-confidence, a few friends, and the proper assortment of harmless bad habits.
The Beautiful and Damned
Caramel would probably trot home and work on his book, which ought to be finished pretty soon.
Anthony was glad he wasn't going home to work on his book. The notion of sitting down and conjuring up, not only words in which to clothe thoughts but thoughts worthy of being clothed—the whole thing was absurdly beyond his desires.
Out of the deep sophistication of Anthony an understanding formed, nothing atavistic or obscure, indeed scarcely physical at all, an understanding remembered from the romancing of many generations of minds that as she talked and caught his eyes and turned her lovely head, she moved him as he had never been moved before. The sheath that held her soul had assumed significance—that was all. She was a sun, radiant, growing, gathering light and storing it—then after an eternity pouring it forth in a glance, the fragment of a sentence, to that part of him that cherished all beauty and all illusion.
Happiness, remarked Maury Noble one day, is only the first hour after the alleviation of some especially intense misery. But oh, Anthony's face as he walked down the tenth-floor corridor of the plaza that night! His dark eyes were gleaming—around his mouth were lines it was a kindness to see. He was handsome then if never before, bound for one of those immortal moments which come so radiantly that their remembered light is enough to see by for years.
After the sureties of youth there sets in a period of intense and intolerable complexity.
As the winter passed with the march of the returning troops along Fifth Avenue they became more and more aware that since Anthony's return their relations had entirely changed. After that reflowering of tenderness and passion each of them had returned into some solitary dream unshared by the other and what endearments passed between them passed, it seemed, from empty heart to empty heart, echoing hollowly the departure of what they knew at last was gone.
January 10, 2010
I recently finished This Side of Paradise. While I liked it, I felt like it was lacking he substance of say The Great Gatsby. I felt like I was supposed to know Amory a lot better than I felt I did by the end of the novel. But, by the end, I still didn't understand why he responded the way he did to certain situations. I also felt like he just needed to grow up and move on with life, instead of roaming around looking for the next best thing or drinking himself into a stupor because of Rosalind. But, I'm also not sure if I was supposed to like Amory. He seemed like kind of a whiner, but only on the inside.
However, I suppose for a first novel and one that's accepted as experimental, maybe I shouldn't be so harsh on Fitzgerald. It's actually a pretty good book for all of that. There are plenty of themes, the snobbishness of youth, flirtation and sexual experimentation, love, rejection and youth searching for his meaning. I think I mostly just felt like the story didn't go much of anywhere. Amory was the same spoiled person we met at the beginning, even if he was a bit less awkward. He still doesn't really know himself, even though he thinks he does.
However, I suppose for a first novel and one that's accepted as experimental, maybe I shouldn't be so harsh on Fitzgerald. It's actually a pretty good book for all of that. There are plenty of themes, the snobbishness of youth, flirtation and sexual experimentation, love, rejection and youth searching for his meaning. I think I mostly just felt like the story didn't go much of anywhere. Amory was the same spoiled person we met at the beginning, even if he was a bit less awkward. He still doesn't really know himself, even though he thinks he does.
August 10, 2007
I am really very fascinated with this author. I am intrigued by the life he led and I feel compelled to read his stories. However, I tend to hit a wall when reading his fiction. While I am thoroughly engrossed in his narratives, I find myself offended and disgusted by the characters and I end up abandoning the book. And yet, I keep coming back for more...
I did read "Flappers and Philosophers" in it's entirety. I cannot say the same for "This Side of Paradise" or "The Beautiful and the Damned" though. I will get around to reading them after I finish Zelda's bio.
I did read "Flappers and Philosophers" in it's entirety. I cannot say the same for "This Side of Paradise" or "The Beautiful and the Damned" though. I will get around to reading them after I finish Zelda's bio.
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May 18, 2023I don't care much for Fitzgerald as I don't care much for his characters. They are post-Christian wealthy people living pointless lives. Because that is the type of people who controlled publishing and criticism in the early twentieth century, Fitzgerald became a big thing. And because Fitzgerald was considered to be a risqué writer, at the time, and people wanted to read about how the rich, immoral set lived. To me, these are just boring people who chose to be irrelevant.
June 7, 2023
I thought it was good. Sometimes, the writing flowed like the memory, and other times it was flat and tired. But either way, F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the best authors, ever. And I liked The Beautiful And Damned. I thought it was a good, racy, little book. It was sorta like Key Lime Pie on the Riviera, and it was boring but electrifying. Like me, the book is really good. F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the best.
June 8, 2010
Only read "This Side of Paradise" which was part of the collection, but after reading this, I want to read the rest of the collection eventually. 6/8/10 - want to reread This Side of Paradise for better understanding.
September 19, 2009
I checked this out from the library so that I could read "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." The short story was almost as depressing as the movie. I tried reading some of the other stories in the collection, but I had a hard time getting into them.
June 28, 2013
First time to read his short stories and I particularly enjoyed them. F. Scott has a way of writing which brings realistic characters to life, and paints them into vivid scenes which transport you back to the 20's and 30's.
July 3, 2020
I love Fitzgerald’s writing. He’s descriptive but not overly. His writing is timeless!! The short stories are immediately engaging and the endings are definitive unlike some short story writing. I liked everyone of them.
January 22, 2009
THis collection includes "The Curius Case of Benjamin Button" don't know if I'll read the whole book or not.
July 10, 2010
Great writing, 'thou you can tell it's before his mature work. The ending was kind of jagged, but kind of funny, too unintentionally funny for a tragedy.
January 9, 2012
Flappers and Philosophers - 07.23.11
Tales of the Jazz Age - 01.08.12
Tales of the Jazz Age - 01.08.12
unfinished
January 5, 2012This a placeholder for the Project Gutenburg PDF of "The Beautiful and the Damned."
God these characters are obnoxious!
God these characters are obnoxious!
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July 8, 2012i want to read this.
September 17, 2012
I like Fitzgerald's short stories, even if he didn't think so highly of some of them himself. Charming and escapist, 1920s decadence at its best, with a few heart felt moments in between.
March 13, 2014
A Great book. Library of America needs to continue on with compiling Fitzgerald's writing.
Currently reading
June 12, 2013Really enjoying it have to keep remembering Scott Fitzgerald was really only a boy writing these stories absolutley no Maturity always lived for the moment like many of his characters.
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August 3, 2013F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories don't always have the happiest endings, but they are all consistently satisfying.
August 16, 2014
See my reviews for the individual novels and collections of stories contained in this volume.
April 14, 2023
Gorgeous collection with everything FSF you could ever want. I will be treating this ebook as a religious text for the rest of my days. <3
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews