The Cambridge Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald

Eleven specially-commissioned essays by major Fitzgerald scholars present a clearly written and comprehensive assessment of F. Scott Fitzgerald as a writer and as a public and private figure. No aspect of his career is overlooked, from his first novel published in 1920, through his more than 170 short stories, to his last unfinished Hollywood novel. Contributions present the reader with a full and accessible picture of the background of American social and cultural change in the early decades of the twentieth century. The introduction traces Fitzgerald’s career as a literary and public figure, and examines the extent to which public recognition has affected his reputation among scholars, critics, and general readers over the past sixty years. This is the only volume that offers undergraduates, graduates and general readers a full account of Fitzgerald’s work as well as suggestions for further exploration of his work.

• Accessibly written • Comprehensive - covers all of Fitzgerald’s work • Places his work in historical and cultural context

List of contributors; Chronology; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction: Scott, Zelda, and the culture of celebrity Ruth Prigozy; 2. F. Scott Fitzgerald, age consciousness, and the rise of American youth culture Kirk Curnutt; 3. The question of vocation in This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned James L. W. West III; 4. The short stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald Bryant Mangum; 5. The Great Gatsby and the twenties Ronald Berman; 6. Tender is the Night and American history Milton R. Stern; 7. Things not in the guidebook: Fitzgerald’s expatriate years and the European experience J. Gerald Kennedy; 8. Women in Fitzgerald’s fiction Rena Sanderson; 9. Fitzgerald’s nonfiction Scott Donaldson; 10. Fitzgerald and Hollywood Alan Margolies; 11. The critical reputation of F. Scott Fitzgerald Jackson R. Bryer; Index.

‘Ruth Prigozy has done a wonderful job of ensuring that her contributors write in an accessible and jargon-free style and cover the full range of Fitzgerald’s writings … If … the editor’s aim was to produce ‘a full and accessible picture’ of the author’s life and career, then she is to be congratulated on having assembled a set of contributors who provide exactly that.’ The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review