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This Side of Paradise / Flappers and Philosophers
For the first time ever, this influential and important novelist's phenomenally successful bestseller and his intriguing collection of stories appear together in one volume. This Side of Paradise is the great novel of moral education and sexual awakening. Flappers and Philosophers is the acclaimed collection of eight stories: "The Offshore Pirate," "The Ice Palace," "Head and Shoulders," "The Cut-Glass Bowl," "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," "Benediction," "Dalyrimple Goes Wrong," and "The Four Fists."
- GenresClassics
382 pages, Hardcover
Published March 26, 1996
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2,496 books26.2k 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 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 28, 2007
My choice for "young man coming of age" books.
March 23, 2010
While looking for free books to download for my Sony Reader, I came across several titles by Mr. F. Scott Fitzgerald. I've been meaning to reread his work, so this was a nice treat. Flappers and Philosophers is a collection of Fitzgerald's short stories. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure of the dates of each of the stories, but the setting for all was post WWI and the 1920s.
What an ear the man has for dialogue and description! The prose really flows, man! The plots are universally about society and relationships, and how societal expectations affect relationships. It's obvious Fitzgerald was a bit obsessed with living the good life, even though he did not like many of the behaviors of the wealthy members of society. His understanding of the life of a woman from young adulthood to middle age was particularly sensitive and introspective. Women were solely expected to be coquettish and lovely to look at, like an ornament that decorates a fine home. And yet, once their beauty faded, these same women were left discontent and with no interest or expectation in life. Servants cared for the children, husbands were focused on work. There seemed to be little to occupy their minds or their hands.
Despite his understanding of the hidden underbelly of upper class society, you can see that Fitzgerald cannot imagine anyone aspiring to any other way of life. Perhaps he thought by exposing the callow nature of high society, it would bring about change. Then again, maybe not, seeing as how his life unraveled into a mess of alcoholism and insanity.
The true picture of history, I think, is often best found in the literature from that era. Obviously, just reading Fitzgerald would give a skewed view of America just after WWI, but his understanding of upper class society puts an interesting spin on living the good life. Was it really that good? I certainly don't feel like I would have wanted that life. And whether or not that way of life is appealing, what still holds up almost 100 years later is Fitzgerald's gift for writing. It's good stuff and reads much easier than one might think.
Updated 13 minutes ago · Comment · Like
What an ear the man has for dialogue and description! The prose really flows, man! The plots are universally about society and relationships, and how societal expectations affect relationships. It's obvious Fitzgerald was a bit obsessed with living the good life, even though he did not like many of the behaviors of the wealthy members of society. His understanding of the life of a woman from young adulthood to middle age was particularly sensitive and introspective. Women were solely expected to be coquettish and lovely to look at, like an ornament that decorates a fine home. And yet, once their beauty faded, these same women were left discontent and with no interest or expectation in life. Servants cared for the children, husbands were focused on work. There seemed to be little to occupy their minds or their hands.
Despite his understanding of the hidden underbelly of upper class society, you can see that Fitzgerald cannot imagine anyone aspiring to any other way of life. Perhaps he thought by exposing the callow nature of high society, it would bring about change. Then again, maybe not, seeing as how his life unraveled into a mess of alcoholism and insanity.
The true picture of history, I think, is often best found in the literature from that era. Obviously, just reading Fitzgerald would give a skewed view of America just after WWI, but his understanding of upper class society puts an interesting spin on living the good life. Was it really that good? I certainly don't feel like I would have wanted that life. And whether or not that way of life is appealing, what still holds up almost 100 years later is Fitzgerald's gift for writing. It's good stuff and reads much easier than one might think.
Updated 13 minutes ago · Comment · Like
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May 1, 2014Story of Amory Blaine, who seems to be raised amongst mucgh affluence, and then goes on to his adventures in academics and love at Princeton---before losing much of what he has gained through his immaturity, negligence, etc. yet another story from this author about the Jazz Age over indulgence and opulence.
May 8, 2007
Fitzgerald's first and biographical novel, this book is a great one to get an idea about the 20's in America, in particularly the north. The main character coming of age hits the world and finds it grates against his usual flair that favors himself alone.
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October 5, 2007this was a great book for people who analyze all of their social groups and situations.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews