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The Great Gatsby
'Can't repeat the past? ... Why of course you can!'
Often called 'the great American novel', F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a story of adulterous love, dreams, and betrayal among the super-rich in 1920s New York. The mysterious and wealthy Jay Gatsby throws extravagant parties while trying to reclaim a lost love. Capturing the excitement and glamour of the era Fitzgerald himself named 'the Jazz Age,' Fitzgerald's incandescent prose brings to life a shimmering world of hot jazz, flowing gin, and brute power, as Gatsby's dreams explode into tragedy. A biting satire of America's illusions about itself, this definitive chronicle of the 1920s is also a timeless exploration of the allure of our own ideals and romantic imagination—and what happens when we fail to live up to them.
This authoritative edition is fully annotated with an introduction from Sarah Churchwell, offering new interpretations and fresh ways of thinking about this much-loved masterpiece.
ABOUT THE For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Often called 'the great American novel', F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a story of adulterous love, dreams, and betrayal among the super-rich in 1920s New York. The mysterious and wealthy Jay Gatsby throws extravagant parties while trying to reclaim a lost love. Capturing the excitement and glamour of the era Fitzgerald himself named 'the Jazz Age,' Fitzgerald's incandescent prose brings to life a shimmering world of hot jazz, flowing gin, and brute power, as Gatsby's dreams explode into tragedy. A biting satire of America's illusions about itself, this definitive chronicle of the 1920s is also a timeless exploration of the allure of our own ideals and romantic imagination—and what happens when we fail to live up to them.
This authoritative edition is fully annotated with an introduction from Sarah Churchwell, offering new interpretations and fresh ways of thinking about this much-loved masterpiece.
ABOUT THE For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
208 pages, ebook
Published December 18, 2024
10 people are currently reading
5973 people want to read
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2,332 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 27, 2024
Für mich schwer zu lesen, aber hat mich trotzdem gepackt
Read
July 9, 2025title ~ The Great Gatsby
author ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
pages ~ 216
chapters ~ 9
format ~ paperback
point of view(s) ~ first-person
protag(s) ~ Nick Carraway
other character(s) ~ Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, George B. Wilson, Myrtle Wilson, Catherine Wilson, Meyer Wolfshiem
adapted? ~ Yes
sequels? ~ No
Lexile Measure ~ 1070L
ISBN ~ 0-684-80152-3
started ~ June 27, 2025
finished ~ July 7, 2025
If it weren’t for my little sister to some degree and her love for this book, it might still be sitting on my Want-to-Read shelf. Maybe in a few years’ time, I would have picked it up. Reading classic literature never used to be my idea of fun.
Of course, I’m one to talk, since I’m the one who does math for fun. 🤓
I’ve read classic literature in the past, but nothing like The Great Gatsby. It’s easy to read and understand, yet so elegantly written. It never strays too far from the story, unlike SOME classic novels (I’m looking at you, Vanity Fair 👀). And I love the drama between the characters.
Anyway, my sister read it in high school, over and over again for class. And when she finished, she went on to watch the movie over and over — Leonardo DiCaprio is one of her favorite actors. But I never really paid attention to the movie, since I was always off in another room or doing my own thing. So I knew almost nothing about the plot, and there were a few surprises I encountered as I read.
.
.
.
.
.
.
[SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS]
I admit, I was a little surprised that Gatsby was murdered. I expected something to happen since the book is well-known for being a tragedy, but what I thought instead was that he was going to be arrested and implicated for vehicular manslaughter. And that would be that. The end. Maybe that would be a little cliché, maybe not. But he’s so lovesick with Daisy, I wonder if he would ever admit her involvement in the crime, or how he would ever prove that if he did. This sounds like a job for fanfiction!
But anyway. In the movie, when he gets murdered, the film-makers present it as a murder-suicide, but that’s not how my brain interpreted it when I saw it in the book.
I, for some reason, imagined that Gatsby had a gun when he went swimming, and then when confronted by his killer, he brandished the gun from his hammerspace and they both shot each other at the same time, and died. At the same time. I’m a big fan of slapstick and cartoons, in case you couldn’t tell. But that would require Gatsby to have some sort of advanced knowledge that someone was out to get him, or that he’s paranoid and he always goes out swimming with guns. Kids, don’t try that at home. It’s dangerous. 🥴
author ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
pages ~ 216
chapters ~ 9
format ~ paperback
point of view(s) ~ first-person
protag(s) ~ Nick Carraway
other character(s) ~ Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, George B. Wilson, Myrtle Wilson, Catherine Wilson, Meyer Wolfshiem
adapted? ~ Yes
sequels? ~ No
Lexile Measure ~ 1070L
ISBN ~ 0-684-80152-3
started ~ June 27, 2025
finished ~ July 7, 2025
If it weren’t for my little sister to some degree and her love for this book, it might still be sitting on my Want-to-Read shelf. Maybe in a few years’ time, I would have picked it up. Reading classic literature never used to be my idea of fun.
Of course, I’m one to talk, since I’m the one who does math for fun. 🤓
I’ve read classic literature in the past, but nothing like The Great Gatsby. It’s easy to read and understand, yet so elegantly written. It never strays too far from the story, unlike SOME classic novels (I’m looking at you, Vanity Fair 👀). And I love the drama between the characters.
Anyway, my sister read it in high school, over and over again for class. And when she finished, she went on to watch the movie over and over — Leonardo DiCaprio is one of her favorite actors. But I never really paid attention to the movie, since I was always off in another room or doing my own thing. So I knew almost nothing about the plot, and there were a few surprises I encountered as I read.
.
.
.
.
.
.
[SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS]
I admit, I was a little surprised that Gatsby was murdered. I expected something to happen since the book is well-known for being a tragedy, but what I thought instead was that he was going to be arrested and implicated for vehicular manslaughter. And that would be that. The end. Maybe that would be a little cliché, maybe not. But he’s so lovesick with Daisy, I wonder if he would ever admit her involvement in the crime, or how he would ever prove that if he did. This sounds like a job for fanfiction!
But anyway. In the movie, when he gets murdered, the film-makers present it as a murder-suicide, but that’s not how my brain interpreted it when I saw it in the book.
I, for some reason, imagined that Gatsby had a gun when he went swimming, and then when confronted by his killer, he brandished the gun from his hammerspace and they both shot each other at the same time, and died. At the same time. I’m a big fan of slapstick and cartoons, in case you couldn’t tell. But that would require Gatsby to have some sort of advanced knowledge that someone was out to get him, or that he’s paranoid and he always goes out swimming with guns. Kids, don’t try that at home. It’s dangerous. 🥴
May 18, 2025
I enjoyed listening to the novel. It kept me engaged throughout, and the narrator was excellent. What I liked most about the book was the language; it is very good and polished. However, I did not enjoy the story itself. There was too much drama, conflict, and partying, which made it feel unrealistic to me. I would not listen to this book again, but I’m glad I experienced it once. Therefore, I am giving it 3 out of 5 stars.
April 3, 2025
For some reason the Great Gatsby is not showing up on my 2025 reading challenge probs bc I read it in the past so hopefully this audiobook can stand in as a place holder I MUST REACH MY GOAL THIS YEAR THIS IS SO I GET CREDIT FOR GG!!
April 17, 2025
My rating is 1 star because I do not do audio books and therefore specifically avoid entering for them. If you go to the giveaway details page for this book, it states that it is in print copy. I, of course, received an audio copy and will not be reading.
August 13, 2025
Re-read after probably 30 years.
It’s a perfect book. It’s glamorous and beautiful and very sad. And the prose is just so… oh it’s just really wonderful. I loved it all over again.
Happy birthday Gatsby.
It’s a perfect book. It’s glamorous and beautiful and very sad. And the prose is just so… oh it’s just really wonderful. I loved it all over again.
Happy birthday Gatsby.
June 4, 2025
Phenomenal. My favourite book and artwork of all time. Completely and utterly beautiful in its sublimity. I'm convinced there is not one bad line in this magnum opus...
January 2, 2026
Such an enjoyable listen. I was a bit confused during times, I feel like emotions could have been explained a bit more.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews