April 10, 1925: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published



Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1896. He spent most of his childhood in Buffalo, New York, where his father worked for Proctor and Gamble. He was a very bright, bookish child with a strong love of literature. He attended St. Paul Academy and the Newman School. In 1913, he enrolled at Princeton University. He was a poor student, devoting much of his time honing his writing. He dropped out in 1917 and joined the Army. In 1917, the United States entered the First World War, and Fitzgerald was worried that he would have to go (his regiment would never be called up). He was stationed at Camp Sheridan in Montgomery, Alabama, when he met Zelda Sayre. When the war ended, Fitzgerald went to New York City to start his writing career, hoping that Zelda would follow him. In 1920, he and Zelda were married.

By 1924, Scott and Zelda had moved to Europe, and he began working on what would become The Great Gatsby. His story was about Jay Gatsby and his attempts to rekindle a lost love. On a deeper level, his book was a commentary on the excesses and superficialities of the post-war period. His characters were true to life, fully flushed out people, whose dreams and desires were never quite attainable, even with their insurmountable wealth. On April 10, 1925, The Great Gatsby was published in New York City to a lukewarm reception. Fitzgerald’s novel would go to be one of the most widely read books of the 20th century.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

March 25, 1306: Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scots

Image
Robert the Bruce was born in Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland on June 7, 1274. He came from a long line of claimants to the Scottish throne, being a descendant of King David I. During his childhood, he was educated in history, civics and languages. He learned a variety of local dialects, French and Latin. Robert's early life was typical of a 13th century European noble. However his young life would soon be thrown upside down with the arrival of the English in Scotland. In 1286, King Alexander III died, his crown passed to a child named Margaret, the Maid of Norway. Due to Margaret's youth, the Scottish nobles assigned Guardians of Scotland to serve as regents until she would come of age. Then in 1290, Margaret died. This created a crisis between the five remaining claimants to the throne: John Balliol, John Hastings, Floris V, Count of Holland, and Robert. The Guardians feared a civil war, so they asked Edward I, King of England to mediate the situation. The King deci...
Read more

April 28, 1788: Maryland becomes the seventh state after it ratifies the United States Constitution

Image
Before European settlement, Maryland was home to the Iroquois and Algonquin peoples. During the 16 th century, Italian explorer Giovanni de Verrazano explored the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay; and John Smith further explored it in 1608. In 1632, George Calvert, 1 st Baron Baltimore, applied to King Charles I for a royal charter for the area surrounding Chesapeake Bay. When Calvert died, his son, Cecilius Calvert, 2 nd Baron Baltimore, was granted the charter in his stead. The colony was named in honor of King Charles’s wife, Queen Henrietta Maria. Upon its establishment, the colony of Maryland was predominantly Catholic, due to the shared religion of the Queen and Calvert’s. The new colonists landed at St. Clements’s Island on March 25, 1634. St. Mary’s City was established as the colony’s capital, and would remain such until 1695. In 1649, the colonial legislature passed the Maryland Tolerance Act, which fostered the free exercise of religion throughout the colony. However, whe...
Read more

May 2, 1863: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville

Image
Throughout 1863, Robert E. Lee fought back against the Union advance toward Richmond. The Peninsula Campaign, was Union General George B. McClellan’s attempt to seize the Confederate capital of Richmond. Confederate President Jefferson Davis promoted his military advisor, Robert E. Lee to take command of the army and push back McClellan. Lee was able to push back McClellan at the Battle of Seven Pines; however, the battle would prove not only to be a watershed moment for Lee but also for another of his generals. During the battle, troops under the command of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson led the charge against the Union soldiers. Jackson cut a very interesting figure. He was an uncompromising hypochondriac. He would suck lemons in the heat of battle, and keep one arm lifted because he felt it kept “the blood balanced.” However even with all of quirks, he was a brilliant tactician, with an utter disregard for the lives of his soldiers. But his soldiers loved him because he brought them...
Read more