Key themes
- The romantic egotist — the self in love with itself
- The war that ends the Edwardian world and the generation it leaves behind
- Class anxiety and the performance of aristocracy
About this book
This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald's romantic and witty first novel, was written when the author was only twenty-three years old. This semi-autobiographical story of the handsome, indulged, an
Published in 1920, This Side of Paradise made Fitzgerald famous overnight and allowed him to marry Zelda Sayre. It draws heavily on his Princeton years and his first relationship. He reportedly rewrote it seven times.
Discussion questions
- Amory Blaine is both the novel's hero and its object of gentle satire. How does Fitzgerald balance sympathy with irony in a novel about a character who is essentially himself?
- The novel is experimental in form — it includes plays, poems and letters alongside the narrative. What is Fitzgerald doing with this formal variety?
- Amory's relationships with women are consistently disappointing. What does the novel say about romantic love — and about the young man's need to idealise women?
- The book was published in 1920 and captures a specific historical moment — the generation just after the Great War. How does the historical context shape the characters' restlessness?
- This Side of Paradise made Fitzgerald famous at 23. How does it compare to The Great Gatsby — and what does the distance between them tell us about how he developed?
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