10 April 1925: The Great Gatsby is published

On 10 April 1925, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in New York. The novel, now considered a classic of American literature, emerged modestly into the world, selling fewer than 20,000 copies in its first year. Yet, it would achieve an enduring legacy as a defining portrait of the Roaring Twenties and a masterclass in literary style and form.

Fitzgerald, who had already achieved fame with This Side of Paradise (1920) and The Beautiful and Damned (1922), poured his growing disillusionment with the American Dream into this third novel. Drawing upon his own experiences amid the wealth and hedonism of Jazz Age America, he created the enigmatic Jay Gatsby—a self-made millionaire whose romantic idealism and relentless pursuit of lost love ultimately lead to tragedy.

Set in the fictional towns of West Egg and East Egg (representing “new money” and “old money” respectively) on Long Island, The Great Gatsby follows narrator Nick Carraway as he becomes entangled in Gatsby’s lavish world and complex past. The prose is precise and poetic, and Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism—the green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock—is one of the most moving moments in literature.

Though its initial reception was mixed, The Great Gatsby was rediscovered during World War II when it was included in a special edition for American soldiers. From that point on, its reputation soared. Today, it is frequently cited as one of the greatest American novels, revered not only for its stylistic elegance but also for its critical lens on class, illusion, and the moral decay hidden behind glittering façades.

Perhaps the book’s most profound legacy is its haunting depiction of aspiration turned sour—how dreams, once corrupted by materialism, can become illusions. The Great Gatsby is a mirror to the soul, shimmering with beauty, loss, and the unrelenting hope of something just out of reach.