Babylon Revisited and Other Stories
Encyclopedia
Babylon Revisited and Other Stories is a collection of ten short stories
written between 1920 and 1937 by F. Scott Fitzgerald
. It was published in 1960.
explains of the Babylon Revisited stories, "His writings embody lessons of ambition and disappointment, idealism and disenchantment, success and failure and redemption, that are central to the American experience...His romantic readiness for life and his gift for hope have come to embody important aspects of the American experience."
, the New York Times wrote, "'Babylon Revisited,' which seems oddly linked in spirit to Mr. Fitzgerald's latest novel, 'Tender is the Night
,' is probably the most mature and substantial story in the book. A rueful, though incompleted, farewell to the Jazz Age
, its setting is Paris and its tone one of anguish for past follies." In a January, 2011 essay to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Penguin's Modern Classics series, University of East Anglia's
Sarah Churchwell wrote,
Churchwell called the story — as of 2011 — "a perfect tale for the times we live in."
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
written between 1920 and 1937 by F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
. It was published in 1960.
Selection
Babylon Revisited collects ten of F. Scott Fitzgerald's best-known short stories. In an afterword to the 1996 edition, Fitzgerald scholar Matthew Bruccoli describes the period leading up to the selection, "F. Scott Fitzgerald died believing himself a failure. The obituaries were condescending, and he seemed destined for literary obscurity. The first phase of the Fitzgerald resurrection — 'revival' does not properly describe the process — occurred between 1945 and 1950. By 1960 he had achieved a secure place among America's enduring writers." In an afterword to the 2000 edition, James L. W. West III of Pennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
explains of the Babylon Revisited stories, "His writings embody lessons of ambition and disappointment, idealism and disenchantment, success and failure and redemption, that are central to the American experience...His romantic readiness for life and his gift for hope have come to embody important aspects of the American experience."
Contents
The ten stories included are- The Ice PalaceThe Ice PalaceThe Ice Palace is a modernist short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in The Saturday Evening Post, 22 May 1920. It is one of eight short stories originally published in Fitzgerald's first collection, Flappers and Philosophers , and is also included in the collection Babylon...
- May DayMay Day (short story)"May Day" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald published in Smart Set in 1920.-Plot:The story uses the May Day Riots of 1919 as historical backdrop...
- The Diamond as Big as the RitzThe Diamond as Big as the RitzThe Diamond as Big as the Ritz is a novella by novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was first published in the June 1922 issue of The Smart Set magazine, and was included in Fitzgerald's 1922 short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age...
- Winter DreamsWinter Dreams"Winter Dreams" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald that first appeared in Metropolitan Magazine in December 1922, and was collected in All the Sad Young Men in 1926. It is considered one of Fitzgerald's finest stories and is frequently anthologized...
- Absolution
- The Rich BoyThe Rich BoyThe Rich Boy is a short story by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was included in his 1926 collection All the Sad Young Men.-Original publication:"The Rich Boy" originally appeared in two parts, in the January and February 1926 issues of Redbook....
- The Freshest BoyThe Freshest BoyThe Freshest Boy is a short story by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was first published in The Saturday Evening Post 28 July 1928. It was reprinted in Fitzgerald's 1935 collection, Taps at Reveille.-Plot:...
- Babylon RevisitedBabylon Revisited"Babylon Revisited" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, written in 1930 and first published on February 21, 1931 in the Saturday Evening Post. It was later adapted into a movie called The Last Time I Saw Paris.-Summary:...
- Crazy SundayCrazy SundayCrazy Sunday is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald originally published in American Mercury on October 1932.-Plot:The story centers on a young screenwriter, Joel Coles, as he comes to terms with his personal and professional failures. Coles is already 28 and has not yet distinguished himself....
- The Long Way OutThe long way outThe Long Way Out is an American-made short film dealing with Hollywood and the lengths a person will go to regain fame. The film is directed, written, and produced by Vicente de Jesus de la Vega II of Cathartic Films and co-produced by Doug Wright....
Reception
When the title story appeared in Fitzgerald's final collection, 1935's Taps at ReveilleTaps at Reveille
Taps at Reveille is a collection of 18 short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was the fourth and final collection of short stories Fitzgerald published in his lifetime...
, the New York Times wrote, "'Babylon Revisited,' which seems oddly linked in spirit to Mr. Fitzgerald's latest novel, 'Tender is the Night
Tender is the Night
Tender Is the Night is a novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was his fourth and final completed novel, and was first published in Scribner's Magazine between January-April, 1934 in four issues...
,' is probably the most mature and substantial story in the book. A rueful, though incompleted, farewell to the Jazz Age
Jazz Age
The Jazz Age was a movement that took place during the 1920s or the Roaring Twenties from which jazz music and dance emerged. The movement came about with the introduction of mainstream radio and the end of the war. This era ended in the 1930s with the beginning of The Great Depression but has...
, its setting is Paris and its tone one of anguish for past follies." In a January, 2011 essay to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Penguin's Modern Classics series, University of East Anglia's
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
Sarah Churchwell wrote,
“'Babylon Revisited' is at once timeless and startlingly modern in its evocation of a single father struggling with alcoholism and trying to care for his daughter, and coming to terms with the costs of extravagance...Nine years after the publication, less than a year before he would die at 44, Fitzgerald wrote his daughter Scottie a letter about the story: 'You have earned some money for me this week because I sold "Babylon Revisited," in which you are a character, to the pictures (the sum received wasn’t worthy of the magnificent story — neither of you nor of me — however, I am accepting it).' Like [the story's hero], Fitzgerald learnt the hard way that loss is remorseless, absolute; what has been wasted is irrecoverable. But as 'Babylon Revisited' also shows, even out of the wreckage some things can be salvaged, if not everything: what Fitzgerald retrieved he bequeathed to us, the hard-won lessons of his life transformed into heartbreaking art."
Churchwell called the story — as of 2011 — "a perfect tale for the times we live in."