The Originals: The Great Gatsby

Hailed as the 20th century’s best American novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925. An exploration of a variety of themes—artistic and cultural dynamism, evolution of jazz music, economic prosperity, organised crime culture, technologies in communication—The Great Gatsby, is a reflection of the Roaring Twenties, often described as a cautionary tale of the ‘American Dream’. In the summer of 1922, Jay Gatsby, a young and enigmatic millionaire falls in love with Daisy Fay Buchanan. Nick Carraway, a veteran of the Great War from the Midwest (and Daisy Fay Buchanan’s cousin), rents a small house on Long Island, next to Jay Gatsby’s opulent mansion where he throws extravagant parties. A series of extraordinary events unfold and Fitzgerald presents a critical social history of America through his unusual characters. The initial response to The Great Gatsby was mixed and the book sold only 20,000 copies. Fitzgerald died thinking himself to be a failed writer. His work came into prominence during World War II and The Great Gatsby joined the ranks of the world’s leading classics. A satirical exposé of the Jazz Age, The Great Gatsby is a must-read for literature lovers.