F. Scott Fitzgerald: Classic Works : Two Novels and Nineteen Short Stories

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

No writer portrayed America's Roaring Twenties as vividly as F. Scott Fitzgerald. In his effervescent tales of elegant ingenues on the prowl for husbands, Ivy League heirs en route to futures of idle entitlement, and endless alcohol-fueled dance parties at ritzy country clubs, he limned a culture giddy with excess and as reckless as it was refined. Gifted with remarkable powers of observation and a witty way with words, Fitzgerald wrote stories that seem as fresh and modern today as they did when published nearly a century ago.

F. Scott Fitzgerald: Classic Works features two full-length novels--This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned--and nineteen short stories, including the classics "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Written as only they could be by an insider to the society that they protray, the twenty-one works collected in this volume capture the precarious splendor and doomed glory of that opulent era that their author called the Jazz Age.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Historical Fiction, Literature, Anthologies, Novels

864 pages, Hardcover

Published March 29, 2013

About the author

Francis 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.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Side of Paradise was very different from what I expected. There were moments that I got lost in the lyrical writing style and those were my favorite moments. I wonder if I would have finished this had I not known this was the beginning of Fitzgerald's writing career, but I did know, and I wasn't going to put it down. The format is a tad tricky as Fitzgerald shifts gears quite often. One moment the story unfolds in a narrative and the next Fitzgerald tries his hand at being a playwright. I felt pulled out of the story a bit but I am sure that in the 1920's this was thought of as innovative storytelling.

There were certainly moments of brilliance. Insights in relationships, philosophy, and poetry - all the best of Fitzgerald that I loved in The Great Gatsby - are present. I liked this passage:

"Amory, you're young. I'm young. People excuse us now for our poses and vanities, for treating people like Sancho and yet getting away with it. They excuse us now. But you've got a lot of knocks coming to you---".

For everything this book has to offer, I can't give it more than 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4. While I liked it, and found it interesting, I didn't love it.

The Beautiful and Damned: Sumptuous writing. Fitzgerald is honing his skills as a writer. Wonderful to read as a historical novel. Full review to come. Four stars.

I admit I had to just push through a lot of the short stories, many of which I found utterly depressing. The Offshore Pirate was thoroughly entertaining and another favorite was Porcelain and Pink - both were stories that I found to be refreshingly humorous. I was surprised to see that Fitzgerald ventured into the realm of fantasy with The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, 'O Russet Witch, and of course The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Reminding myself that this is a collection of his earlier work, I am happy to know that his more highly praised offerings lie ahead for me.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's time.

I bought this in a secondhand bookstore in NYC, and I remember thinking I'd struck gold and I'd cherish this forever. Now I'm on mission "read everything you own because now is better than never." & boy oh boy.

'This Side of Paradise' felt like a chore to read. The only thing I really enjoyed about the story was the name 'Amory.' Thinking back on it now, I don't recall anything else memorable except for thinking I was reading about the same characters once I got to 'The Beautiful and Damned.'

'The Beautiful and Damned' also felt like a chore to read, and I started to really consider that lugging this book around for three and a half years was a waste of time. However, I did start to enjoy the story more as everything became more chaotic for Anthony and Gloria. The end felt more telling than anything, so I walked away from this thinking "appreciated what you have, because once you have it you might not be able to appreciate it."

'Flappers and Philosophers' was where I most started to enjoy this beast of a volume. 'The Offshore Pirate' became my favourite short story from this section, and I wasn't even mad when Ardita was conned into falling in love with someone she was determined to not fall in love with. Overall I think Fitzgerald really hits his stride with a shorter word count - the themes are more bang for your buck.

'Tales of the Jazz Age' also kept up the momentum of shorter stories that I felt were more manageable and enjoyable. No story struck me quite like 'The Offshore Pirate,' but I did enjoy getting to read 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' and what it might mean to live life in an opposite way under the assumption you may enjoy it more. I'd also like to see 'The Diamond as Big as the Ritz' turned into a Tarantino film.

Overall: probably glad I read it. I enjoyed the short stories more than the novels. Now that it's been read it can move on to another home.

[Elaine Day Neal · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a very arduous read. If asked to name a favorite story or novel I would be hard pressed to suggest any title to a reader. Maybe it deserved a 2.5* but I was unwilling to round up to a 3*. Too many racist, condescending bigoted inferences to read comfortably. I'm sure that Fitzerald was representing the times but the stories don't age well. Off to a donation pile. I can't offer it to anyone I know in good conscience.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. One of my 2017 reading goals was to finish this book — although it's really more like four books in one (two novels, This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned, as well as 19 short stories split across two collections, "Flappers and Philosophers" and 'Tales of the Jazz Age"). I started this collection more than three years ago, but according to the sticky note I left stuck in the books, paused partway through The Beautiful and Damned and never came back...until now. As with any collection, I greatly preferred some stories to others — This Side of Paradise was slow-moving and didn't really capture my attention (although it was Fitzgerald's debut novel, so I can't judge it too harshly), but the realism and disillusionment of The Beautiful and Damned really resonated with me. However, I found Fitzgerald's demeaning treatment on non-Caucasian Americans across both these novels and short stories problematic, and it diminished my enjoyment of the tales. I suppose such insulting characterizations were more socially acceptable during his time, but it doesn't excuse his writing.

[Jeane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally I read a Scott Fitzgerald book! For years I have been wondering how he wrote, if his stories were as amazingly good and different, unique... I have mixed feelings, but none are bad. I think not having lived during his time, both makes it difficult to see the attraction of what and how he wrote and at the same time gives us the opportunity to see his way of writing, his view of society, .... in a different, purer way than if we would have been part of his times.

Of the two novels, I preferred and enjoyed most The beautiful and damned. It was a good story, well written and interesting twists in the two main characters.
I normally don't enjoy short stories because I miss the opportunity to become completely absorbed by the story. But I think that with Fitzgerald's stories, this actually was a useful thing. I don't remember which, but their were several short stories which I have enjoyed.

I am really glad that I finally got an idea of the uniqueness of his writing and the three stories mean much more than my three stars normally do, I just took into consideration the fact that there is the part of how very different he wrote of what we are used to now.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fitzgerald's writing - his words - have a certain effect on him. Some of his books and stories, if I stop and say sleep while in the middle of reading, I get visions -- dreams -- of the text, with me as one of the characters and usually an updated ("happening today") version. The first time this happened was with the Great Gatsby, the most recent time it was with The Diamond As Big As the Ritz. I started reading it and then after part 2 went to sleep, finished the story the next day to realize the dream I had the night before was an updated version of the story. I consider this an aspect of great writing!

[Debbie Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a joy to read some of Fitzgerald's best short stories. Except for a couple, his short stories earned all of the 5 stars that could be given as a rating. "Mr. Icky" was my least favorite. I found the writing style lacking and the storyline a little trite, but Fitzgerald definitely hit the mark with "the Diamond as Big as the Ritz" , The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons", "The Camel's Back", "Jemina, the Mountain Girl" and several others that I read. Reading Fitzgerald is always time well spent in my opinion.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? I love Fitzgerald. One of the most lush and descriptive authors I've ever read. Personally I'm both exhibitionist and voyeur and reading Fitzgerald is always akin to sneaking around and looking through the key hole into someone's private life.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished The Beautiful and Damned - 11/28/14.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald's works.

[Dee Renee Chesnut · Rating 3 out of 5]

I downloaded it for free in 2020 from Barnes and Noble.