Photo Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Pictures
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” celebrates the 100th anniversary of its publication on April 10, cementing its place as one of the greatest American novels of all time.
Published when Fitzgerald was just 29 years old, the novel captures the extravagance, ambition and disillusionment of the Roaring ‘20s. It follows Nick Carraway, the story’s first-person narrator, and his friendship with Jay Gatsby, the mysterious millionaire determined to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. Despite positive reviews, the novel did not sell well, and Fitzgerald — who died at the age of 44 — believed it was a failure.
It wasn’t until World War II that the book gained recognition when the Council on Books in Wartime distributed free copies to American soldiers overseas. Today, it is regarded as a literary masterpiece.
Over the decades, “The Great Gatsby” has been adapted into four major films. No copies are known to exist of the first version, a silent film made in 1926. Later versions followed in 1949 and 1974 — the latter starring Sam Waterston, Mia Farrow and Robert Redford — grossing more than $26 million. The last adaptation was shot in Australia and came out in 2013. A box office hit that grossed more than $353 million, it starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire.