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“Bernice Bobs Her Hair”
This short story was originally published in 1920 in The Saturday Evening Post. In it, Fitzgerald depicts the struggles of a small-town girl as she tries to fit into her cousin’s Jazz Age social scene, the story offers insight into conversations and concerns of young people at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. Bernice can be seen as a kind of prototype for stories portraying the perils of “fitting in” that still proliferate more than a century later. SparkNotes offers a study guide and a free full text for “Bernice Bobs Her Hair.”
This Side of Paradise
Fitzgerald’s debut novel from 1920 follows the coming of age of Amory Blaine from his childhood in the Midwest through his years at Princeton University and into his early adulthood in New York City. The novel returns to Fitzgerald’s fascination with the worries and concerns of the moneyed class in American society. As Amory moves through the life he believes he is supposed to have, circumstances allow him to stray from the path, with mixed results. SparkNotes offers a study guide and a free full text for This Side of Paradise.
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
This short story was published in Collier’s magazine in 1922 and later included in Fitzgerald’s collection, Tales of the Jazz Age. Written at the height of Fitzgerald’s popularity, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” tells the story of a man who is born with the appearance of being seventy years old and ages backward in time. More humorous in nature than the novels for which Fitzgerald is best known, the tale also contains the author’s trademark lamentations on the highs and lows of a life hard lived. SparkNotes offers a study guide and a free full text for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
The Beautiful and Damned
Seemingly inspired by the fraught relationship between Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, this 1922 novel tracks the slow, destructive relationship between two damaged people. Unwilling to engage in self-examination and unable to change the course of their increasingly unhappy lives, either together or on their own, they accompany each other into ruin. SparkNotes offers a study guide for The Beautiful and the Damned.
“Babylon Revisited”
“Babylon Revisited” was written in 1930 and published in 1931 in The Saturday Evening Post. Although he is best known for his novels, Fitzgerald wrote about 160 short stories. The number is difficult to pin down precisely because many of his pieces blur the lines between story, essay, and article. Fitzgerald’s editor, Malcolm Cowley, wrote that in comparison with other stories of Fitzgerald’s, “Babylon Revisited” evidences “less regret for the past and more dignity in the face of real sorrow.” SparkNotes offers a study guide for “Babylon Revisited.”
Tender Is the Night
Fitzgerald’s preoccupation with rich, unhappy people is evident in this 1934 novel, which follows the multi-year doomed relationship between Rosemary and Dick Diver. Their relationship is informed and mediated by Dick’s wife, Nicole, who is also his psychological patient. The remainder of the novel chronicles Dick’s eventual breakdown and the dissolution of their once-happy marriage. SparkNotes offers a study guide for Tender Is the Night.
