The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922 The story is primarily about the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale about dreaming American Fitzgerald, inspired by parties he attended while visiting the north shore of Long Island, began planning the novel in 1923 wishing to produce, in his words, "something new: something extraordinary, beautiful, simple and intricately patterned" . Progress was slow with Fitzgerald completing his first draft after a move to the French Riviera in 1924. His publisher, Maxwell Perkins, felt the book was too vague and persuaded the author to revise it over the following winter. Fitzgerald was ambivalent about the book's title, wishing at various times to rename the novel Trimalchio in West Egg. First published by Scribner in April 1925, The Great Gatsby received mixed reviews and sold poorly; in its first year, the book sold only 20,000 copies. Fitzgerald died in 1940, believing himself a failure and his work forgotten. However, the novel experienced a resurgence during the World and became part of American high school curricula and numerous stage and film adaptations in the decades that followed. Today, The Great Gatsby is widely considered a literary classic and a contender for the title "Great American Novel." ... middle of paper ...... reference to The Great Gatsby and the following month Fitzgerald agreed. A month before publication, after a final revision of the proofs, he asked if it was possible to rename it Trimalchio or Gatsby with the Golden Hat but Perkins advised against it. On March 19, 1925, Fitzgerald asked if the book could be retitled Under the Red, White and Blue, but by then it was too late to change. The Great Gatsby was published on April 10, 1925. Fitzgerald observed that "the title is only fair, rather bad than good." The first drafts of the novel titled Trimalchio: An Early Version of The Great Gatsby have been published. One notable difference between Trimalchio's draft and The Great Gatsby is a less complete failure of Gatsby's dream in Trimalchio. Another difference is that the discussion between Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby is more balanced, although Daisy still returns to Tom.