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The Ice Palace: Short Story
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45 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1920
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1767 people want to read
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2,332 books25.5k 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 - 30 of 138 reviews
August 26, 2018
3.5 Im reading a non fiction book called The Gatsby Affair, and felt compelled to read a short story by Fitzgerald. I have many books of shorts in my house, and after locating this one, I chose the story The Ice Palace. It is so darn hot here again, the title called to me. In another book coincidence this story almost perfectly with where is was in the non fiction book. This story without doubt is partly the story of Zelda and Scott.
In the story, the flirtatious Sally Carol, is being wooed by many of her Southern boyfriends. Much to their dismay, she is engaged and in love with a Northerner. She loves to swim, dance, always in motion. On her trip to the North, she dislikes the cold, doesn't quite fit in with these more somber people and after a terrifying experience visiting the ice palace.....Well you will have to read the story yourself..
The story does a great job pointing out the differences between the South and North. The prose is simple but effective. I enjoyed this little sample of book coincidence.
In the story, the flirtatious Sally Carol, is being wooed by many of her Southern boyfriends. Much to their dismay, she is engaged and in love with a Northerner. She loves to swim, dance, always in motion. On her trip to the North, she dislikes the cold, doesn't quite fit in with these more somber people and after a terrifying experience visiting the ice palace.....Well you will have to read the story yourself..
The story does a great job pointing out the differences between the South and North. The prose is simple but effective. I enjoyed this little sample of book coincidence.
March 7, 2015
3.5 - I like Fitzgerald's style. I wondered if the people who wrote the screenplay Sweet Home Alabama were inspired by this short story. The story reflects the tension that remained between North and South U.S. many years after the war. A Southern girl falls for a Northerner, and tells the guys in town they're great but not what she's looking for. My favorite part showed tension building up between the two as the guy made mean comments about Southerners and made her mad. I liked seeing her mad because she seemed so pacifistic, and, in all honesty, kind of dumb. I'm not sure that she was more laid back and mellow than dumb, but it was evident these two were different. He is business minded and quick witted and she wanted to go build a snowman. I liked her more than him, however. She struggles deeply with her love of the South and is forced to a decision in an ice palace. The end made me laugh. For me, it was a happy ending. I love when people stop running from themselves and instead embrace who they really are. The populous may want you to be a certain way, but you won't be happy until you embrace you and who/ what you are rather than letting the world fit you in its mold.
January 27, 2014
For me, plot line is secondary with Fitzgerald because I just get lost in his words. His prose is beautiful. It's that simple.
January 30, 2022
North = cold, ew, females 😡, SWEDES 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
South= Hot girl summer tings
South= Hot girl summer tings
June 15, 2017
The story was beautifully written, the theme isn't common as well, it's about this young lady who thought she could easily change her home, and get used to another one, but she found out she was wrong, with all the differences, between her the Southern young lady, and her fiancé the Northern young man.
May 29, 2023
დიდი ვერაფერი.
2,5⭐
2,5⭐
October 29, 2013
Better than the previous read.. The story is about a girl who feels that she'll be stuck if she continues to live in the south and moves on to the north with a boy she thinks she is in love with.. Only when she reaches north does she realize the false pretense of the people there.. She feels that the women there is nothing but 'glorified domestics.' She finds herself in the midst of a men-oriented society. Being born and brought up in the wild and green south,she is unable to cope with this, and feels that all she's doing here is acting her part.. Stuck in the ice palace, which might be the symbol of the ice-cold nature of the people there, for sometime she realizes this is no place for her to be. At the end of the story, she's seen with the old boyfriend in the south.
The yearning of mind to be in a better place than where it is is portrayed beautifully in this story.. And the difference between the frankness of the south and pretentious nature of the north couldn't have made more obvious.. We might enjoy taking out breath and the way breath escapes our nose more after reading this story.. I loved the part describing her wonder at the white breath escaping from her nose.. A simple and enjoyable reading..
The yearning of mind to be in a better place than where it is is portrayed beautifully in this story.. And the difference between the frankness of the south and pretentious nature of the north couldn't have made more obvious.. We might enjoy taking out breath and the way breath escapes our nose more after reading this story.. I loved the part describing her wonder at the white breath escaping from her nose.. A simple and enjoyable reading..
October 13, 2015
Fitzgerald is surprisingly good when his main character is a woman, it takes him farther away from his own head, I suppose. Though his prose is always perfect as far as I'm concerned, his tendency to write the same story over and over can get tiresome, and thankfully this was not the case here. The Ice Palace is a story about a southern girl, warm and vivacious, who thinks she has to get away from it all and go North. The winter and the cold personalities she finds there lead her to question that. Extra points for being surprisingly feminist.
May 9, 2023
This short story was just the right length to say what it wanted to say.
November 3, 2025
Okay, well, first off, I really like Sally Carrol, like reeally like her; that's after all, why I'm taking the time presently because beyond her, well, okay I'll get to it. So, the story starts and there's Sally Carrol, all southern and sexy up in her room painting sweet somethings for her sister. And the way she talks is simply... no, beyond delightful... it's decadent! Yes, luscious and decadent, the way she says "Sho enough," and "Y'all" and every other sweet saying from a beautiful blonde southern belle. Then, there's this quick scene where they're heading to go swimming and it's hot as blazes and she drifts into sweet slumber in that bozo's truck and the way the wake her up! oh you can tell how much they love her, just whispering to her, "Sally Carrol, sweet water Sally Carrol." Oh man, I would totally hang out and rip a twelve pack with them. Anyway, they mention they've heard rumors of Sally getting married to a "Yankee" and she evades but we can tell it's true and that bozo is so sad you almost feel sorry for him. What was it: "Sally Carrol, do you not like us? Are we not smart enough down here?" (I should mention, I'm paraphrasing.) But okay, I should probably move on. So, that's all the first chapter and the second chapter you see her with the aforementioned "Yankee" (aka northerner) and there's quite a wonderful scene with Sally and he in a cemetery where she gets all misty-eyed at this tombstone and imagines this woman so vividly it just had to be true. And you're reading and you're like, yeah, Sally is herself around this northerner and I like that. But! oh and this is terrible, but from the third chapter on Sally is in the freezing cold north, but what's worse, she's not herself. What do I mean by that? Well, it's kind of like when you read it, it doesn't even feel like Sally Carrol anymore. And, of course, I've already considered that our celebrated author perhaps intended for her to, what's the word, assimilate into the cold north, but it's just kind of sad. She was so great and you don't even get an intimation that it's the same character, you know, only perhaps, when she's sledding and laughing her sweet little ass off, but that's kind of it. I guess it makes sense though. I just wanted to hear more of that southern slang but she sidled and swallowed it all and ended up all stifled and that's why I'm sad. But good story. I'm going to change my three to four stars, just for Sally Carrol, oh, and I won't tell you where she ended up because then the Goodreads guardians will be at my door again, but that bozo is lucky!
January 25, 2023
"It was a particularly cold night. A sudden thaw had nearly cleared the streets the day before, but now they were traversed again with a powdery wraith of loose snow that
travelled in wavy lines before the feet of the wind, and filled the lower air with a fine-particled mist. There was no sky--
only a dark, ominous tent that draped in the tops of the streets and was in reality a vast approaching army of snowflakes-- while over it all, chilling away the comfort from
the brown-and-green glow of lighted windows and muffling the steady trot of the horse pulling their sleigh, interminably
washed the north wind. It was a dismal town after all, she thought-- dismal."
travelled in wavy lines before the feet of the wind, and filled the lower air with a fine-particled mist. There was no sky--
only a dark, ominous tent that draped in the tops of the streets and was in reality a vast approaching army of snowflakes-- while over it all, chilling away the comfort from
the brown-and-green glow of lighted windows and muffling the steady trot of the horse pulling their sleigh, interminably
washed the north wind. It was a dismal town after all, she thought-- dismal."
October 31, 2025
This was my first time reading Fitzgerald, and I have just finished a 5-piece collection of short stories by him. Someone on here said Fitzgerald is suprisingly good when the protagonist is a woman, and though I have only read 5 stories by him and don't really know if it will hold true in the future, I kinda agree with that at the moment. There were only two stories I really, really enjoyed in this collection, and both had women as protagonists. ✨
December 29, 2021
Although not the most exciting story, this is a beautiful little gem. FSF’s writing is so lyrical and atmospheric, he could make anything sound phenomenal.
October 19, 2020
Perhaps my favorite FSF, but just started a class so we’ll see. His writing immediately transported me. As a native to Minnesota, enjoyed this short story with a vocal focal point on the St Paul Winter Carnival.
November 4, 2019
No one compares to Fitzgerald.
October 3, 2022
1.5 ეგეც გულუხვად
ფ. სკოტს იმდენი რამე სჭირს სათვალავი ამერევა რომ დავიწყო
ფ. სკოტს იმდენი რამე სჭირს სათვალავი ამერევა რომ დავიწყო
January 24, 2023
След като прочетох 2 от 3-те сборника с кратките разкази на Фицджералд от издателство "Пергамент Прес", мога искрено да кажа, че това са най-добре подбраните и стилни книжки, за които съм си давала паричките. Няма разказ, който да не те докосне, разчувства, разсмее, замисли. Героите са разбираеми, близки, истински. Душевността, нагласите и целите им са толкова добре представени, а Фицджералд описва толкова изящно и ефирно времето, местата и природата, че не усещаш как си изял книгата с кориците за минути.
December 9, 2023
This short story is jampacked and FSF words were just beautifully written.
Be careful with what you wish for. If Sally were a Gen Z girl, she'd get a few. But from a generation past - she was confined to her times. Sometimes we already have the thing we think we need - it can just be in a different form or perspective.
A stark contrast between living in the North and South pre civil war. I'm not sure where I'd rather be - the hustle and bustle and free North or the slow and structured South.
As the saying goes, regret is always at the end.
Be careful with what you wish for. If Sally were a Gen Z girl, she'd get a few. But from a generation past - she was confined to her times. Sometimes we already have the thing we think we need - it can just be in a different form or perspective.
A stark contrast between living in the North and South pre civil war. I'm not sure where I'd rather be - the hustle and bustle and free North or the slow and structured South.
As the saying goes, regret is always at the end.
January 4, 2025
Every girl should read this book. When digesting this I had to step back for a moment. As a young girl, regardless where you come from, you always want a grander life. This book really puts things into perspective. I related to this main character and even though I was surprised with her choices in the end, I agreed with her. Good to know where you are truely best suited for this lifelong journey! Better when you find this out earlier in life.
This is a very quick read. And I mean quick! But I do recommend it.
Would’ve gotten 5 stars if there was just a bit more to it. But the author is known for his short stories. I’m excited to read more from him.
This is a very quick read. And I mean quick! But I do recommend it.
Would’ve gotten 5 stars if there was just a bit more to it. But the author is known for his short stories. I’m excited to read more from him.
October 10, 2018
3.5 უფრო ეკუთვნის.
ფიცჯერალდს კარგად აქვს გადმოცემული იმ პერიოდის ამერიკის ურთიერთდამოკიდებულება ჩრდილოეთსა და სამხრეთს შორის. სასიამოვნო იყო აგრეთვე ბუნებაც, რომელიც გადამღლელი და მომაბეზრებელი არ იყო. ხოლო ის თავი როდესაც სალი ქეროლი ლაბირინთში მოხვდება, მიუხედავად იმისა რომ ეს ეპიზოდი რამდენიმე გვერდს გრძელდება, ბევრ ემოციას აღძრავს და დიდ ვნებათა ღელვაში გითრევს.
ფიცჯერალდს კარგად აქვს გადმოცემული იმ პერიოდის ამერიკის ურთიერთდამოკიდებულება ჩრდილოეთსა და სამხრეთს შორის. სასიამოვნო იყო აგრეთვე ბუნებაც, რომელიც გადამღლელი და მომაბეზრებელი არ იყო. ხოლო ის თავი როდესაც სალი ქეროლი ლაბირინთში მოხვდება, მიუხედავად იმისა რომ ეს ეპიზოდი რამდენიმე გვერდს გრძელდება, ბევრ ემოციას აღძრავს და დიდ ვნებათა ღელვაში გითრევს.
January 17, 2021
really enjoyed the writing style, the cemetery scene was my favourite. interesting and unexpected ending!
(idk why i'm always shocked there's overt racism in old books, especially since this is partially set in the south?? maybe because i wouldn't expect it in gatsby? i've not read that yet though so idk)
(idk why i'm always shocked there's overt racism in old books, especially since this is partially set in the south?? maybe because i wouldn't expect it in gatsby? i've not read that yet though so idk)
October 4, 2020
"You’ve a place in my heart no one else ever could have." ♡
August 19, 2024
i knew the last 5 ⭐️ book by him was too good to be true 🤨
December 14, 2017
I think I’m just not a fan of Fitzgerald. I thought I was going to like this one (and it was way better than The Great Gatsby imho) but then... *shrug* I’m just not a fan.
November 30, 2023
Altogether too little ice palace for my liking
December 29, 2025
2.5⭐️ miss sally just wants to have a hot girl summer, and who can blame her💅🏻💅🏻
May 8, 2023
It is so hard and it's cold here
December 28, 2021
‣ 4.25/5
Il Palazzo di Ghiaccio segue Sally Carrol Happer, una ragazza di diciannove anni cresciuta nelle profondità della Georgia, che sogna di poter presto evadere dalla mediocrità del suo villaggio. Durante una gita fuori città incontra Henry Bellamy, un gentiluomo venuto dall’altrettanto profondo settentrione, con il quale decide di andare a convivere a nord. La storia ruota attorno a Sally Carrol e al suo viaggio introspettivo, mentre combatte contro se stessa nel tentativo di capire se potrebbe effettivamente apprezzare una vita in una cittadina così diversa dalla sua.
Devo esser sincera, mi sono rivista molto in Sally Carrol e nella sua costante voglia di fuggire per poter ricominciare altrove. La storia non ha però avuto l’epilogo che mi aspettavo e, francamente, non condivido la concezione tetra che Fitzgerald ha voluto dare ai climi e paesaggi nordici. Capisco comunque la necessità di voler render ancor più drastico il disagio provato da Sally Carrol nello spostare le proprie radici - nord/sud; freddo/caldo; neve/sole.
In fin dei conti, il racconto mi è piaciuto molto. Fitzgerald è stato ancora una volta in grado di render quasi confortevole una storia angosciante, utilizzando toni semplici e delicati.
Il Palazzo di Ghiaccio segue Sally Carrol Happer, una ragazza di diciannove anni cresciuta nelle profondità della Georgia, che sogna di poter presto evadere dalla mediocrità del suo villaggio. Durante una gita fuori città incontra Henry Bellamy, un gentiluomo venuto dall’altrettanto profondo settentrione, con il quale decide di andare a convivere a nord. La storia ruota attorno a Sally Carrol e al suo viaggio introspettivo, mentre combatte contro se stessa nel tentativo di capire se potrebbe effettivamente apprezzare una vita in una cittadina così diversa dalla sua.
Devo esser sincera, mi sono rivista molto in Sally Carrol e nella sua costante voglia di fuggire per poter ricominciare altrove. La storia non ha però avuto l’epilogo che mi aspettavo e, francamente, non condivido la concezione tetra che Fitzgerald ha voluto dare ai climi e paesaggi nordici. Capisco comunque la necessità di voler render ancor più drastico il disagio provato da Sally Carrol nello spostare le proprie radici - nord/sud; freddo/caldo; neve/sole.
In fin dei conti, il racconto mi è piaciuto molto. Fitzgerald è stato ancora una volta in grado di render quasi confortevole una storia angosciante, utilizzando toni semplici e delicati.
July 27, 2023
Sally Carrol's internal conflict of whether to leave her sleepy small town in Georgia for the North where "things happen on a big scale" would be rather hard to see, but Fitzgerald makes manifest her conflict through the diction, setting, and through various external conflicts.
Sally Carrol eventually leaves her Georgia home for the big city so that she doesn't waste her life; at least, that's what she thinks will happen. But the Northern city is covered in snow; her fiance's lips are always cold when they kiss her; people's breaths steam in the frigid air like locomotives. Fitzgerald shows the conflict in Sally's heart through the icy setting of the North, which writs large the iciness, the "dismal" quality as Sally Carrol herself puts it, of her fiance's family and social circle. By contrast, her warm, sleepy, lazy Georgia home is full of charisma and warmth of personality. The setting works to help us experience Sally Carrol's interior emotions as she comes to grip with the fact that the North is not her home.
Fitzgerald uses the final scene, a conflict in the ice palace--a massive structure built with ice blocks--to again show the interior conflict in Sally's heart. She believes (rightly) that her fiance will take care of all her needs, but she comes to realize that that's not enough for her, and the exterior conflict helps the reader experience the epicness of Sally Carrol coming to realize this.
Finally, there is rich symbolism, not only in warmth vs. iciness and the South's slow-paced laziness vs. the North's dismal efficiency but also in the cemetery graves (including the one Sally Carrol imagines of herself), the idea of "home," and the ice palace itself.
I liked this story, and even more, appreciated Fitzgerald's skill in making Sally Carrol's internal conflict suspenseful and palpable to the reader.
Sally Carrol eventually leaves her Georgia home for the big city so that she doesn't waste her life; at least, that's what she thinks will happen. But the Northern city is covered in snow; her fiance's lips are always cold when they kiss her; people's breaths steam in the frigid air like locomotives. Fitzgerald shows the conflict in Sally's heart through the icy setting of the North, which writs large the iciness, the "dismal" quality as Sally Carrol herself puts it, of her fiance's family and social circle. By contrast, her warm, sleepy, lazy Georgia home is full of charisma and warmth of personality. The setting works to help us experience Sally Carrol's interior emotions as she comes to grip with the fact that the North is not her home.
Fitzgerald uses the final scene, a conflict in the ice palace--a massive structure built with ice blocks--to again show the interior conflict in Sally's heart. She believes (rightly) that her fiance will take care of all her needs, but she comes to realize that that's not enough for her, and the exterior conflict helps the reader experience the epicness of Sally Carrol coming to realize this.
Finally, there is rich symbolism, not only in warmth vs. iciness and the South's slow-paced laziness vs. the North's dismal efficiency but also in the cemetery graves (including the one Sally Carrol imagines of herself), the idea of "home," and the ice palace itself.
I liked this story, and even more, appreciated Fitzgerald's skill in making Sally Carrol's internal conflict suspenseful and palpable to the reader.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews