F. Scott Fitzgerald. Great Gatsby autograph manuscript, page one. Not to be reproduced without permission of the Princeton University Library.
The film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, premieres this evening in New York and arrives in theaters on May 10. Thanks to the movie, the Princeton University Library and its Fitzgerald holdings—which include the original manuscript of The Great Gatsby as well as extensive correspondence and other manuscripts by F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda—have been frequently mentioned in the news:
Book jacket for the first edition of The Great Gatsby (New York: Scribners, 1925).
A recent article and accompanying video in The New York Times, “Judging ‘Gatsby’ by Its Cover(s),” discusses various book jacket designs and their influence on sales, including the famous original cover art by Francis Cugat which is housed at Princeton.
Baz Luhrmann, right, examines F. Scott Fitzgerald’s papers. Not to be reproduced without permission of the Princeton University Library.
“What Baz Luhrmann Asked Me About The Great Gatsby,” an article in The Huffington Post by James West, Professor of English at Pennsylvania State University and general editor of the Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, mentions DiCaprio’s interest in Trimalchio, Fitzgerald’s early version of The Great Gatsby, and Carey Mulligan’s visit to Princeton to read letters from Fitzgerald’s first love, Ginevra King, who became an inspiration for Daisy’s character. Both the Trimalchio manuscript and Ginevra King’s letters are held at Princeton.
F. Scott Fitzgerald with Richard Barthelme on the movie set in Hollywood. Not to be reproduced without permission of the Princeton University Library.
“What Did F. Scott Fitzgerald Think of The Great Gatsby, the Movie, in 1926? He Walked Out,” by Anne Margaret Daniel, Class of 1999, makes use of the Zelda Fitzgerald Papers at Princeton. Professor Daniel, who has taught at Princeton, the New School, New York University, and Bard College, writes frequently on the subject of the Fitzgeralds for The Huffington Post: Fitzgerald entries.
For more news coverage on the movie, the book, and Princeton’s Fitzgerald holdings, see:
Tom Shone, “Great Expectations: The Inimitable Carey Mulligan” (Vogue)
Jen Carlson, “Great Gatsby Star Says Daisy Buchanan Is ‘Like A Kardashian'” (Gothamist)
Mary Claire Kendall, “‘Going for Baroque’: The Great Gatsby 88 Years Later” (Forbes)
Steve Garbarino, “Salute New York’s Jazz Age” (Wall Street Journal)
Alexandra Alter, “Zelda’s Moment” (Wall Street Journal)
