Who Wrote The Great Gatsby, When, and How Long Is It?
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby. Charles Scribner's Sons published it on April 10, 1925. It has nine chapters and about 48,000 words, which is roughly 180 pages in the standard Scribner paperback.
At a typical reading pace the book takes about three to four hours.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author | F. Scott Fitzgerald |
| Published | April 10, 1925, Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Set in | Summer 1922, Long Island and New York |
| Chapters | 9 |
| Length | About 48,000 words |
| Pages | About 180 (Scribner paperback); some editions about 200 |
Who wrote The Great Gatsby?
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an American writer and one of the voices of the Jazz Age. The Great Gatsby was his third novel, after This Side of Paradise (1920) and The Beautiful and Damned (1922). His next, Tender Is the Night, came out in 1934.
↑ Back to the topWhen was The Great Gatsby written?
Fitzgerald began planning the novel in 1923, and the main work started in April 1924. He wrote the first draft after moving to the French Riviera. On October 30, 1924 he sent the manuscript to his editor, Maxwell Perkins, who found the character of Gatsby somewhat vague. Fitzgerald revised the book over the winter. The story takes place in the summer of 1922.
↑ Back to the topWhen was The Great Gatsby published?
Charles Scribner's Sons published it on April 10, 1925. The first edition had a famous dust jacket by Francis Cugat showing a pair of eyes over a city at night. Sales were weaker than Fitzgerald hoped: fewer than 20,000 copies in the first year, against the 75,000 he had expected. The novel is now in the public domain in the United States.
↑ Back to the topWhat other titles did Fitzgerald consider?
He tried many: Trimalchio, Trimalchio in West Egg, On the Road to West Egg, Gold-Hatted Gatsby, The High-Bouncing Lover and Under the Red, White, and Blue. He settled on The Great Gatsby, and later wished he had chosen the last of those, but it was too late to change.
↑ Back to the topHow many pages and chapters does The Great Gatsby have?
The book has nine chapters and runs about 48,000 words, so it counts as a short novel. The page count depends on the edition: the standard Scribner trade paperback has 180 pages, and some other editions, such as Apple Books' digital versions, show about 200. At about 250 words a minute, the book takes about three to four hours.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Great Gatsby
This guide covers the book only. Film and TV versions differ in places.