Bloom, Harold, ed. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2003.

In this book, renowned literary scholar Harold Bloom collects a number of critical essays on The Great Gatsby. Bloom makes the case in his introduction for the novel as one of the greatest works of literature in the American canon and Fitzgerald as one of its greatest contributors.

Bruccoli, Andrew J., ed. New Essays on The Great Gatsby. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

This book is a collection of essays that track the history of The Great Gatsby’s reception by popular and intellectual audiences alike. Bruccoli argues that the novel was unappreciated in its time but grew in popularity in the following decades.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Letters of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ed. Andrew Turnbull. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1963.

This book is a collection of letters written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The letters give a sense of the author’s mindset as he wrote the novel.

———. Trimalchio : An Early Version of The Great Gatsby. Ed. James L. West. New York: Cambridge University Press, new edition 2002.

Trimalchio is the first version of the novel that Fitzgerald submitted to publishers in 1924 before heavily revising it into the current version. This version is quite different from the 1925 version, containing many plot changes that shift understandings of characters.

Lehan, Richard D. F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Craft of Fiction. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1966.

This book examines Fitzgerald’s many works of fiction to establish the trends and patterns in his writing. For the most part, it focuses on style and craft rather than on historical context.

Milford, Nancy. Zelda. New York: Harper Perennial, reprint edition, 2001.

This is a biography of Zelda Sayre, the infamous wife and muse of F. Scott Fitzgerald. This book provides intimate details of a relationship that likely influenced Fitzgerald’s depiction of the connection between Gatsby and Daisy.

Turnbull, Andrew. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1962.

This biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald gives an overview of Fitzgerald’s life, including his army service and his time in New York State, which he drew upon for the character of Nick.