The Lord of the Rings is not the only novel to have ‘repurposed’ for political ends. The Great Gatsby is another, multiple agents using it's powerful symbolic resources to create their own mythos — a novel that serves the aims of both Capitalists & anti-Capitalists alike.

Fitzgerald scholar Kirk Curnutt sets folk straight about Trump's lavish Gatsby party at Mar-a-Lago in Oct 2025. “The book critiques that conspicuous consumption and the wastage that goes on in these sorts of events.” The fight over its meaning continues. www.democracynow.org/2025/11/3/gr...

Thanks to Brittany Allen of LitHub for this timely piece on Trump and Vance sponsor, Peter Thiel. Something could be said abt his greater love of Kirill Yeskov's The Last Ringbearer which forms the basis of his whole techno-authoritarian anti-EU, anti-Papal narrative lithub.com/is-peter-thi...

Just days before his death in New York in January 1919, the virulently anti-Catholic newspaper, The Menace, honed-in on the Vatican's plans for the League of Nations — a One World Government. The man they focused on was F. Scott Fitzgerald's mentor, Monsignor Sigourney Fay.

Did some research on K. Tighe for a book but was having trouble accessing this on Jstor. I contacted LaVigne thinking I had some new information. Then I received a copy of the essay from Tracy Fessenden. Seems I had nothing new to share. Midwife to Paradise. Great essay. jstor.org/stable/48678...

“You have only to keep one thing before your mind and that is that what you want is naturally impossible, and you would no sooner get it than you would find you did not want it.” - Monsignor Sigourney Fay writing to The Great Gatsby author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dec 1918 #BookSky

Short account of a trip by Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald to the Embassy Club in London in 1925, in which they partied with Winston Churchill and the Mountbattens. #BookSky www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/fitzgerald-e...

F. Scott Fitzgerald's ledger entry for Rome in June 1921 says "woman weeping at the Vatican." When Theodore Dreiser was presented to the Pope years earlier he too writes of women weeping. I'm inclined to think Scott was presented too. It wasn't uncommon in society life. We know he'd requested it.

#ArtemisII It always starts with a dream. Albert Einstein in The Saturday Evening Post, October 1929. He tells us that science began with images, pictures that even a child could understand. For him, the picture came first, and then the mathematics: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

On Apr 9 1865 Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War. Exploring the Civil War heroes & assassins in F. Scott Fitzgerald's family vault. #BookSky www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/scott-fitzge...

Why would anybody want to produce, let alone read AI generated books? I started off with the belief that it was ok to support stories with AI generated illustrations but I'm now having my doubts. It seemed exciting and just so easy but that's the point. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

In Jan 1921, Pope Benedict XV attacked what he saw as the greatest challenges facing humankind: the unlimited pursuit of pleasure and gross materialism. In summer that year, F. Scott Fitzgerald received a note of introduction from Archbishop Dowling for an audience with the Pope in Rome. #BookSky

#OtD 3 Mar 1903 the Immigration Act of 1903 (aka: Anarchist Exclusion Act) was signed into US law by President Theodore Roosevelt. It barred entry to the US for anarchists, people with epilepsy, beggars, and importers of sex workers stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1020...

Randolph Archibald Coolidge. The Scribner author & director of the Harvard University Library who was going to lead Scott Fitzgerald's 'secret mission' to Russia in September 1917. Appointed negotiator at the American Relief Administration in 1921. Tutored Lothrop Stoddard. #BookSky

The former Follies girl and actress Kay Laurell who joined Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald in Paris in May-Jul 1921. Kay was a notorious source of gossip for The Smart Set magazine. She would eventually feature as the tragic heroine Gay in Zelda Fitzgerald's story, The Original Follies Girl #BookSky

Short story from Sherwood Anderson, a friend of Scott Fitzgerald. The story was inspired by a midnight walk through Limehouse similar to the one taken by Scott & Zelda in July 1920. The story of a man whose ambition to be a great novelist destroys his marriage. About Scott and Zelda? #BookSky

In May 1924, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, left Great Neck for Europe. After a brief stay in Paris, the couple took rental of the Villa Marie in Valescure near Saint Raphael on the French Riviera. #BookSky www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/scott-and-ze...

Scott's friend Bert Barr aka Mrs Louis Goldstein. On the Miami golf links with President Harding just as the Teapot dome scandal was breaking. Her husband was good friends with Judge Aaron Levy, an associate of Arnold Rothstein and Max Gerlach. May have inspired his character, Rags Martin-Jones.

I'd been wondering how long the iconic fairy tale castle had been in the public imagination. We all know about Disney, but this goes back to 1909 and is based on a castle near Mariánské Lázně. It makes a lot of sense that Gatsby has house like this. I think represents Scott's wife Zelda in some ways

An advertisement like Scott might have seen. This one from Le Petit Marseillais, June 1925.

When F. Scott Fitzgerald had completed the first handwritten drafts of The Great Gatsby in late 1924, he hired a professional typist at the Institut Gaudio in Nice to prepare the copies he would send to his editor, Max Perkins and agent, Harold Ober. They had several branches. #BookSky

In July 1923, F Scott Fitzgerald was leaving Chalet Durand with his friend Ring Lardner and editor, Max Perkins when he drove them down a slope and into a pond. The incident is recalled in Gatsby. It features Ring as "Owl Eyes" and Scott as the "pale dangling individual" stepping out of the wreck.

Ring Lardner was instrumental in breaking the Arnold Rothstein- 1919 World Series Scandal. He was also a good friend of F. Scott Fitzgerald at the time he was writing The Great Gatsby. He has a cameo in the book. The scene features Owl Eyes who is caught snooping in Gatsby's gothic library. #BookSky

The Villa Marie in Valescure, Saint Raphael where F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the first drafts of The Great Gatsby in the summer of 1924. It had been the winter retreat of Sir Reginald Hoskins, a Major General in the British Army. #BookSky

Imagine Jay Gatsby in his pool and "that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward him through the amorphous trees." This is the Villa Marie in Valescure where Scott Fitzgerald got to work on The Great Gatsby. I don't know if it had a pool back then but it does now. #BookSky

Within the Quota. A satirical one act Jazz Ballet on the Immigration Restriction Bills. It was written by Cole Porter & Gerald Murphy who befriended Scott in France. Murphy & the ballet arrived in NY in Nov 1923. He was a friend of Great Neck regular Gilbert Seldes who may have introduced them.

F. Scott Fitzgerald featured all of these names on a timetable kept of the party guests by Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby. Interesting account from 1964 on real-life inspirations on Long Island. #BookSky

At the time of writing The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald had been absorbing Nietzsche. Hid friend Edmund Wilson makes a reference to this in his play, The Crime in the Whistler Room (1924), in which Scott's fictional alter-ego, Simon Delacy, uses the 'God is Dead' expression. #BookSky

Brand new F. Scott Fitzgerald find. Not seen for over 100 years! An explanation the author provided for his essay, Wait Till You Have Children of Your Own in July 1924. It appeared on p.110 and appears to have been overlooked by scholars. #BookSky www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/wait-till-yo...

As President Trump's ICE agents continue to do their best Brownshirts impression we take a look at F. Scott Fitzgerald's brush with American Fascism in 1930s Asheville, North Carolina. 5 part podcast series. www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/american-dre...

F. Scott Fitzgerald's self-penned explanation for his essay, 'Wait Till You Have Children of Your Own' which appeared in the July 1924 edition of Woman's Home Companion. Was included at the back of the issue. This wee item hasn't been seen for some 100 years or more. #BookSky

This article appeared in the June 1924 edition of Woman's Home Companion that also ftd Scott Fitzgerald's essay Wait Till You Have Children of Your Own. Fitz would incorporate elements of his essay (& probably this one) into The Great Gatsby. A must read for all Gatsby & Green Light lovers #BookSky

In the year of Scott Fitzgerald's birth, 1896, Richard Strauss composed a tone poem based on one of Scott's favorite books: Thus Sprach Zarathustra by Nietzsche. The composition would later feature in the live performances of American Trilogy by Elvis #BookSky www.youtube.com/watch?v=u88x...

Horst offered some very kind words on an early draft of my book on Gatsby and Scott Fitzgerald. Here's a plug for his own book which offers a tantalizing glimpse of the man who partially inspired the title character of The Great Gatsby. www.amazon.co.uk/F-Scott-Fitz...

Anniversary gift from my wife of 27 years. First edition of Mizener's groundbreaking biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Far Side of Paradise. You can hear Mizener talking to radio legend Mary Margaret McBride abt the book in 1951 here: www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/arthur-mizen... #BookSky

Winston Churchill’s ‘Zionism versus Bolshevism’ for the Illustrated Sunday Herald in February 1920 must rank as one of the most controversial press articles in the history of British Politics. 30 minute podcast and article. #history www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/zionism-vers...

Lavish 8-part podcast series from the award-winning Blanchard House on the inspiration for The Great Gatsby. The New York Times' Opinion Joe, Joe Nocera, narrates. Listen for free on the Amazon Music app! Search for American Dreamer: Who Was Jay Gatsby? #BookSky www.audible.co.uk/pd/American-...

Gatsby: Death of an Irishman – Now an Audiobook! F. Scott Fitzgerald and His Search for Identity. Amazon: a.co/d/efQJ0kz Spotify: tinyurl.com/Gatsby-Death... Audible: tinyurl.com/GatsbyDeatho... #America250 #IrishAmerica250 #FScottFitzgerald #thegreatgatsby

Lovely Christmas gift from my wife. A copy of Woman's Home Companion dated July 1924 featuring an article by F Scott Fitzgerald. As his ledger records, certain aspects of the article were incorporated into The Great Gatsby. Fantastic condition. Also has other big surprises. #BookSky

Have spent the last few months experimenting with AI audio, chiefly because of the trends discussed below. Voice actors are expensive & although I don't think it comes close to replacing natural voices, it allows non-pros like me to offer user options. #BookSky www.thebookseller.com/news/audio-n...

Been exploring A.I. Words by me, pictures by Google Gemini. Have done much the same thing for posts on Katharine Fessenden and The Phantom of the Jazz Age. Uploaded edited text from chapters of a book I'm working on and gave instructions for illustrations. www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/the-glorious...

Happy CPA Christmas Fantasy Arc Angel angel www.cpaphil.com/en/p... #VintagePostcard #AntiquePostcard #FantasyPostcard #ChristmasAngel #Archangel #HeavenlyArt #VintageChristmas #ReligiousArt #SpiritualTheme #ClassicPostcard #Early20thCentury #AngelicFigure #ChristmasBlessings

I'm not a Catholic myself. I'm not a church-goer. But the subject has always interested me which is why I was keen to explore Fitzgerald's Catholic background. Interesting piece from The Guardian. Scott was mentored by 20th century converts. #BookSky www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...

F. Scott Fitzgerald died in Hollywood 85 years ago today. At the time of his death Scott was working on a screenplay for the Emlyn Williams drama, ‘The Light in Heart’ and finishing his fifth novel, The Last Tycoon. #BookSky #Literature

Listen F. Scott Fitzgerald biographer Arthur Mizener talking to Mary Margaret McBride in 1951. This is the full show. It was during this show that Scott's old friend Max Gerlach rang the show's producers to reveal that HE was the real Jay Gatsby. #BookSky www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/arthur-mizen...

#Gatsby100 #FScottFitzgerald #BookSky www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/christmas-ce...

What do Pinocchio, The Satyricon and The Great Gatsby have in common? #BookSky www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/land-of-cock...

Oct 1923. As Scott Fitzgerald gets down to work on Gatsby, Arnold Rothstein (Meyer Wolfshiem in the novel) appears in court over the World Series Scandal. It would come to a head in May the following year. Scott's friend Ring Lardner was later said to be a key witness in the fix. #BookSky

Did Gatsby own his house or was it a rental? Well on page six of the first edition it says it was a rental. A house 'inhabited' by Mr Gatsby.

Pictures by Gemini Storybook, words by me. There's a limit to what content I'll let AI contribute. I'll let it draw or speak for me, but not think :-) www.monocledmutineer.co.uk/the-glorious...