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The Intimate Strangers and Other Stories
Sara, the American wife of a French aristocrat, has had two encounters with her compatriot Cedric Killian, one a youthful idyll in North Carolina and the other during the First World War, when he was a soldier about to go to battle. When, years later and after the death of her husband, Cedric contacts her out of the blue, Sara finds herself eager to see him again - against the wishes of her in-laws - and to find out the secret of this man she loves yet knows so little about. A poignant tale of thwarted love, 'The Intimate Strangers' explores many of Fitzgerald's favourite themes, such as the constraints of social pressure on romance and the American fascination for Old Europe. This volume also includes other lesser-known stories he wrote from the mid-1930s until the end of his life, revealing new facets to the author of The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night.
- GenresClassicsShort Stories
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2015
9 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2,333 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 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 28, 2016
I'm being mighty generous with the two stars, Scott, and I think you know it. This is far from your best work, and probably will only ever entice those who, like me, are out to read every single little thing you ever wrote. I'm very close to getting there, Scott, and it's okay that you wrote these stories near the end of your life when you were all depressed and shot through with liquor and had to sell subpar stories to the first takers out there – I still love you.
July 23, 2020
4 stars!
We've got another delightful bunch of short stories that carry the signature Fitzgerald style of being part amusing, part poignant. This particular collection contains many stories that deal with the economic crash of the late 20's and the subsequent Great Depression; it was fascinating following various characters that were affected by the crash, how each of them were differently affected by it and how they dealt with the repercussions.
While not for everyone, I think its safe to say I'm so accustomed to Scott's cadence and themes that a trip through any of his short stories will be a welcomed one, just like this one was.
We've got another delightful bunch of short stories that carry the signature Fitzgerald style of being part amusing, part poignant. This particular collection contains many stories that deal with the economic crash of the late 20's and the subsequent Great Depression; it was fascinating following various characters that were affected by the crash, how each of them were differently affected by it and how they dealt with the repercussions.
While not for everyone, I think its safe to say I'm so accustomed to Scott's cadence and themes that a trip through any of his short stories will be a welcomed one, just like this one was.
October 13, 2020
Purchase The Intimate Strangers and Other Stories here for just $10!
F Scott Fitzgerald is a master of the short story and this collection showcases his work from the 1930s onwards. Very indicative of his work in general, the stories sparkle with wit and glamour and will take you to another world. One that you might not want to leave!
Elisa - The Book Grocer
F Scott Fitzgerald is a master of the short story and this collection showcases his work from the 1930s onwards. Very indicative of his work in general, the stories sparkle with wit and glamour and will take you to another world. One that you might not want to leave!
Elisa - The Book Grocer
August 21, 2023
If golf is a "rich man's game" then surely Fitzgerald is "rich man's fiction"; I've yet to decide, however, whether F. Scott satirises the hollow centre of the wealthy lifestyle or whether he's just hollow.
December 11, 2018
The good ones, to my taste, of which the title story isn't one of them, are:
- Indecision
- Between Three and Four (a tale of bitterness and sweet revenge, and perhaps alternative reality)
- A Change of Class (again, sweet revenge)
- The Rubber Cheque
- The Family Bus (my favorite of the bunch)
- Her Last Case
- Indecision
- Between Three and Four (a tale of bitterness and sweet revenge, and perhaps alternative reality)
- A Change of Class (again, sweet revenge)
- The Rubber Cheque
- The Family Bus (my favorite of the bunch)
- Her Last Case
November 1, 2015
Quite poor in my humble opinion. The stories have a taste of "not quite finished" and there is little tension in many of them, I thought.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews