Question: Who wrote the novel The Great Gatsby?
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F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The novel The Great Gatsby was written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald and was first published in 1925. Fitzgerald, a key figure in the Jazz Age, is known for his explorations of wealth, ambition, love, and the American Dream, all of which are central themes in The Great Gatsby.
Born in 1896, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was named after his distant relative, Francis Scott Key, the writer of The Star-Spangled Banner. He grew up in Minnesota and later attended Princeton University, though he did not graduate. Instead, he joined the U.S. Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, who would later become his wife and muse.
Fitzgerald’s early literary success came with his first novel, This Side of Paradise (1920), which made him famous almost overnight. This success allowed him to marry Zelda, but their extravagant lifestyle led to financial troubles. Fitzgerald then moved to France, where he wrote The Great Gatsby, inspired by his observations of American expatriates and the excesses of the Roaring Twenties.
Published on April 10, 1925, The Great Gatsby tells the tragic story of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire obsessed with rekindling his love for Daisy Buchanan. The novel critiques the pursuit of wealth and the illusion of the American Dream. However, it was not widely recognized during Fitzgerald’s lifetime and only gained immense popularity decades later, becoming one of the greatest American novels.
Fitzgerald died in 1940 at the age of 44, believing himself to be a failure. However, The Great Gatsby was rediscovered after World War II and is now considered a literary masterpiece, widely studied and adapted into multiple films.
