Trimalchio: An Early Version of The Great Gatsby

Description:

Edited by James L.W. West III. Fine in a Fine jacket, unclipped (no price). Red cloth with gilt lettering on the spine and front board. Square and firmly bound, Cambridge University Press press release laid-in. Published as part of the Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald and to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the novel's original publication, this is the first book form of this early form of the beloved novel. Seller Inventory # 9674

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Synopsis: This is the first edition ever published of Trimalchio, an early and complete version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald wrote the novel as Trimalchio and submitted it to Maxwell Perkins, his editor at Scribner's, who had the novel set in type and sent the galleys to Fitzgerald in France. Fitzgerald then virtually rewrote the novel in galleys, producing the book we know as The Great Gatsby. This first version, Trimalchio, has never been published and has only been read by a handful of people. It is markedly different from The Great Gatsby: two chapters were completely rewritten for the published novel, and the rest of the book was heavily revised. Characterization is different, the narrative voice of Nick Carraway is altered and, most importantly, the revelation of Jay Gatsby's past is handled in a wholly different way. James L.W. West III directs the Penn State Center for the History of the Book and is General Editor of the Cambridge Edition of the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald. He is the author of William Styron: A Descriptive Biography (Random House, 1998).

Book Description: This is the first edition ever published of Trimalchio, an early and complete version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald submitted the novel to his editor at Scribner's as Trimalchio, and then virtually rewrote it at galley-proof stage, producing the book we know as The Great Gatsby. This ur-version, Trimalchio, has only been seen by a handful of people until now. It is markedly different from Gatsby in characterization, narrative voice, and, most importantly, in its handling of the revelation of Jay Gatsby's past.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Trimalchio: An Early Version of The Great ...
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, New York
Publication Date: 2000
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Fine
Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
Edition: First Edition Thus.