This Side of Paradise

by F Scott Fitzgerald

Published 1 January 1920
F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise is the opening statement of his literary career. Published originally in 1920, the novel captures the rhythm and feel of the gaudy decade that was to follow in America. This Side of Paradise made Fitzgerald simultaneously famous and infamous: famous for the stylish exuberance of his writing and infamous for the errors - in spelling, fact, grammar and chronology - that peppered his text. This authoritative critical edition offers an accurate, fully annotated text based on Fitzgerald's original manuscript, explanatory notes, textual apparatus and appendices.

"We know the old adage about judging books by their covers, but how could you not when the covers are as lovely as these?" —Vogue (U.K.)

The jacket design by Coralie Bickford-Smith reflects the elegance and glamour of the Art Deco period paired with the modern aesthetic of mechanical repetition. Each jacket comes with a detachable bookmark.

Anthony and Gloria are the essence of Jazz Age glamour. A brilliant and magnetic couple, they fling themselves at life with an energy that is thrilling. New York is a playground where they dance and drink for days on end. Their marriage is a passionate theatrical performance; they are young, rich, alive and lovely and they intend to inherit the earth. But as money becomes tight, their marriage becomes impossible. And with their inheritance still distant, Anthony and Gloria must grow up and face reality; they may be beautiful but they are also damned.


First published in 1920, this volume marked Fitzgerald's entry into the realm of the short story. It includes "Bernice Bobs Her Hair, " "Head and Shoulders, " and other beloved tales.

Tales From The Jazz Age

by F Scott Fitzgerald

Published 26 November 2008
F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American author, famous for his Jazz Age novels and short stories, including This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and the Damned, Tales of the Jazz Age, and the Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald and his peers were part of the "Lost Generation," a group of artists and writers who came of age at the time of the Great War. Writers during this period expressed the alienation and loss felt from the war and the subsequent rush of life during the "Roaring Twenties." Fitzgerald's first book, This Side of Paradise, earned him some money, about $6000, but it gained him enough fame to charge high prices for his short stories. Eventually Fitzgerald would become one of America's first literary super celebrities, and he and his wife Zelda were in the spotlight and the news, which was no blessing. He drank like a fiend and was constantly plagued by financial woes, and Zelda went schizophrenic - thus, Fitzgerald was forced to sell stories to magazines and Hollywood just to keep from cracking up.