The Great Gatsby

Since its publication in 1925, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s account of the American dream gone awry, has established itself as one of the most popular and widely read novels in the English language. Until now, however, no edition has printed the novel exactly as Fitzgerald himself wrote it. From its first edition onward, the text has been subject to rigorous house-styling that has distorted the characteristic rhythms and structure of his sentences. This critical edition draws on the manuscript and surviving proofs of the novel, together with Fitzgerald’s subsequent revisions to key passages, to provide the first authoritative text of The Great Gatsby. This volume also includes a detailed account of the genesis, composition, and publication of the novel; a full textual apparatus; crucial early draft material; helpful glosses on the peculiar geography and chronology of the book; and explanatory notes on topical allusions and historical references that contemporary readers might otherwise miss. Fitzgerald’s great masterpiece is thus brought closer to a cross-section of readers, more accessibly and more authentically than ever before.

First edition to print the novel as Fitzgerald himself wrote it – purged of his publisher’s editorial interference and house styling
one of the most successful novels of the twentieth-century as it was intended to be read. Our volume editor, Matthew Bruccoli, is world’s leading Fitzgerald scholar
Full introduction gives details of the composition, publication, and reception of the novel. Explanatory notes gloss a host of topical references
–cambridge.org