Among the many Fitzgerald biographies, Matthew J. Bruccoli's Some Sort of Epic Grandeur (1981) remains the definitive treatment of the author's life. Bruccoli argues that it was Fitzgerald's conflicted attitudes, most notably his love/ hate relationship with the rich, as much as his heavy drinking and marriage troubles that prevented him from devoting more of his creative energies to his work.

The Great Gatsby (1925) has proved to be Fitzgerald's most popular novel, and some critics have claimed that it may well be the finest American novel ever written. In it, Fitzgerald lyrically recounts the story of bootlegger and idealist Jay Gatsby's dream of rekindling his relationship with Daisy Fay, his former flame, and the tragic consequences of an automobile accident for which Gatsby takes the blame.

In his posthumously published memoir A Moveable Feast (1964), novelist Ernest Hemingway describes his experiences among...