•  Many of the same wealth-related themes presented in “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” are explored in greater depth in Fitzgerald’s most famous novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). Though the novel is more realistic, the main characters behave in a thoughtless, egocentric, and deadly manner, in some ways reminiscent of the Washingtons in “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz.”

•  “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” was originally included in the short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. It is also featured in The Best Early Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald (2005), which includes selected stories from each of Fitzgerald’s collections, explanatory notes, articles by Fitzgerald and his wife, and a short biography.

•  Fitzgerald’s life and troubles are...