This Side of Paradise (1920)
by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This Side of Paradise is the debut novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Published in 1920, and taking its title from a line of the Rupert Brooke poem Tiare Tahiti, the book examines the lives and morality of post-World War I youth. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is a wealthy and attractive Princeton University student who dabbles in literature and has a series of romances that eventually lead to his disillusionment. In his later novels, Fitzgerald would further develop the book's theme of love warped by greed and status-seeking.
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56805This Side of Paradise1920F. Scott Fitzgerald

THIS SIDE OF PARADISE

THIS
SIDE OF PARADISE


. . . Well this side of Paradise! . . .
There's little comfort in the wise.
Rupert Brooke.

Experience is the name so many people
give to their mistakes.
Oscar Wilde.


NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1920


Copyright, 1920, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS


Published April, 1920
Reprinted twice in April, 1920

TO
SIGOURNEY FAY

CONTENTS

BOOK ONE: THE ROMANTIC EGOTIST

  1. CHAPTERPAGE
  2. I.
    AMORY, SON OF BEATRICE
    ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    3
  3. II.
    SPIRES AND GARGOYLES
    ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    41
  4. III.
    THE EGOTIST CONSIDERS
    ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    99
  5. IV.
    NARCISSUS OFF DUTY
    ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    131


[INTERLUDE: MAY, 1917-FEBRUARY, 1919.]


BOOK TWO: THE EDUCATION OF A PERSONAGE

  1. CHAPTERPAGE
  2. I.
    THE DÉBUTANTE.
    ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    179
  3. II.
    EXPERIMENTS IN CONVALESCENCE
    ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    212
  4. III.
    YOUNG IRONY
    ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    238
  5. IV.
    THE SUPERCILIOUS SACRIFICE
    ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    261
  6. V.
    THE EGOTIST BECOMES A PERSONAGE
    ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    273

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1940, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 83 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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