86.10–11 like Kant at his church steeple] The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) was said to gaze at a church steeple visible from the window of his writing room in Königsberg.

  88.28–89.1 “the Merton College Library”] Merton College, which dates from 1264, was among the first colleges to be founded at Oxford. Its library is considered one of the most beautiful at the university. The library at Cottage Club (Fitzgerald’s club at Princeton) is modelled on the Merton College Library.

  89.9 an Adam study] The “Adam style” was a neoclassical furniture style developed by the Scottish brothers Robert and James Adam, an ornate choice for a man of Gatsby’s age during the 1920s.

  91.15 “The pompadour!] A hairstyle in which the hair is swept upward from the sides and forehead and fixed in place with hair oil or gel. The pompadour was popular during the 1910s but would have been passé by 1922.

  92.25 “The Love Nest”] Popular song from the 1920 Broadway musical comedy Mary, with music by Louis A. Hirsch (1887–1924) and lyrics by Otto Harbach (1873–1963). The lyrics read in part: “Just a love nest, / Cozy with charm, / Like a dove nest, / Down on a farm . . . Better than a palace with a gilded dome, / Is a love nest / You can call home.”

  93.1–12 “In the morning . . . in between time—”] The seven lines are from “Ain’t We Got Fun?” (1921), with music by Richard A. Whiting (1891–1938) and lyrics by Gus Kahn (1886–1941) and Raymond B. Egan (1890–1952). In the third-from-last line, Klipspringer sings the variant “children” for “poorer.”

  95.15 “underground pipe-line to Canada”] Illegal alcohol entered the U.S. from Canada, but a popular myth of the Prohibition era held that liquor flowed southward across the border through an underground pipeline.

  97.7 Lutheran college of St. Olaf’s] St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, founded in 1874 by Norwegian Lutherans.

  97.20 Madame de Maintenon] Françoise d’Aubigné (1635–1719), known as Madame de Maintenon, who was secretly married in 1683 to Louis XIV, king of France. She was said to be pious and narrow-minded; she exercised much influence over the king during the last years of his reign.

  106.26 “Three o’Clock in the Morning,”] Popular song of the 1920s with music by Julián Robledo (1887–1940) and lyrics by Dorothy Terriss (1883–1953). An instrumental version by Paul Whiteman’s orchestra was released on the Victor label in 1922 and sold more than three million copies.

  110.4 Trimalchio] A wealthy freed slave in the Satyricon, a Latin fiction likely written by the Roman author Petronius (c.27–66 c.e.). Trimalchio, who appears in a section of the work called “Trimalchio’s Feast,” throws ostentatious parties for his guests. The narrator of the Satyricon is a layabout named Encolpius. Fitzgerald considered “Trimalchio” and “Trimalchio in West Egg” as possible titles for The Great Gatsby.

  111.23 National Biscuit Company] A sprawling Nabisco plant located in Long Island City in the borough of Queens.

  115.3 gin rickeys] A hot-weather drink made with gin, lime juice, fruit syrup or sugar, and seltzer water. It is served over ice, usually with a wedge of lime, in a lowball glass.

  118.12–13 You can . . . drug-store nowadays.”] During Prohibition some drugstores were fronts for bootlegging, the suggestion by Tom being that Gatsby is a bootlegger.

  120.1 both brakes] During the 1920s most automobiles were equipped with two mechanisms for stopping: hand brakes, which acted on the rear wheels, and pedal-operated brakes, which acted on the transmission shaft.

  124.20–21 Mendelssohn’s Wedding March] Fitzgerald refers to the march from the incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1842), by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), usually played as a recessional at weddings. The ceremony downstairs appears to be beginning; the music one might expect to hear would be the “Bridal Chorus” (“Here comes the bride . . .”) from Lohengrin, by Richard Wagner (1813–1883).

  124.27 Biloxi, Tennessee.”] Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast. Daisy is perhaps confused.

  126.5–6 New Haven.”] See note 7.5.

  129.18 Kapiolani?”] A three hundred–acre park in Honolulu, Hawaii.

  129.22 the Punch Bowl] Extinct volcano crater in Honolulu.

  146.21 the Argonne battles] See note 65.5.

  147.9–10 “Beale Street Blues”] Early blues tune by American songwriter and pianist W. C. Handy (1873–1958), first published in 1917.

  152.2 an exasperated Central] Telephones during the early 1920s were not equipped with mechanisms for dialing. An operator at a central office placed the call through a switchboard. For long-distance calls the line had to be cleared in advance through several interchanges.

  164.15 James J. Hill.] A Canadian American railroad executive and financier (1838–1916) whose base of operations was in St. Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald’s hometown. A self-made man, Hill was a hero to many midwestern boys. His thirty-two-room mansion, which contains a ballroom and an art gallery, still stands on Summit Avenue in St. Paul.

  166.3 “The Rosary,”] Popular sentimental tune written by American composer and pianist Ethelbert Nevin (1862–1901), with words by Robert Cameron Rogers (1862–1912): “The hours I spent with thee, dear heart, / Are as a string of pearls to me; / I count them over, every one apart, / My rosary, my rosary!”

  168.28–29 “Hopalong Cassidy.”] One in a series of novels and stories by American writer Clarence E. Mulford (1883–1956) that featured the rough-talking but upright cowboy of the same name. The novel is an anachronism, since Jimmy Gatz’s list is dated September 12, 1906—and the book was not published until 1910.

  171.4 “Blessed are the dead . . . falls on,”] Paraphrase of a line from “Rain” (1916), by the British war poet Edward Thomas (1878–1917), killed on the Western Front during World War I.

  172.23 El Greco] Doménikos Theotokópoulos (1541–1614), a Greek painter and sculptor.

  STORIES

  183.21 New Haven] See note 7.5.

  184.21 Pensacola] Pensacola, Florida, the location of the U.S. Naval Air Station during World War I. There, trainees learned to fly seaplanes, dirigibles, and kite balloons.

  184.21–22 “I’m Sorry, Dear”] A war song with music by N. J. Clesi (1880–1950) and lyrics by Harry Tobias (1895–1994), popularized by Fats Waller in a 1918 recording. “I’m sorry dear, so sorry dear, / I’m sorry I made you cry. / Won’t you forget, won’t you forgive, / Don’t let us say goodbye.”

  187.3 The Ritz] The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, located in the 1920s at Madison and 46th Street, famous for its elegantly appointed Palm Room.

  189.26 bromo-seltzer] Bromo-Seltzer, a bromide. The granules were mixed with water before ingesting.

  190.4–5 in Dutch] In trouble.

  190.8 the Links.”] Exclusive New York club located on East 62nd Street, about a block from Central Park.

  194.2 the Breakers and the Royal Poinciana] Gilded Age luxury hotels built by American oil, real estate, and railroad tycoon Henry Flagler. The two hotels occupied the same property in Palm Beach.

  194.7 the double-shuffle] A three-step dance—a variation on the polka, with extra steps interpolated for syncopated music. By convention, dancers performing the double-shuffle moved counterclockwise around the floor.

  194.10 the Everglades Club] Exclusive Palm Beach club that opened in 1919.

  194.22–25 “Rose of Washington Square . . . basement air—”] Three lines from the popular 1920 song “Rose of Washington Square,” with music by the vaudeville accompanist James F. Hanley (1892–1942) and lyrics by Princeton alumnus Ballard MacDonald (1882–1935). The song has two versions, one serious and the other comic. The lyrics here are from the comic rendition: “Rose of Washington Square, she’s withering there; / In basement air she’s fading . . . / She’s got those Broadway vampires lashed to the mast; / She’s got no future, but oh! What a past; / She’s Rose of Washington Square.”

  195.3 Mr. Conan Doyle] Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), British author of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories.

  197.5–6 a cutaway coat] A coat with the front cut back to curve toward the tails, worn with striped trousers, vest, winged collar, and ascot. The ensemble was worn for formal daytime occasions, such as weddings and Sunday morning churchgoing.

  197.12 Wheatley Hills.] Exclusive club on Long Island, in East Williston, New York.

  198.24–25 Junior League . . . the Plaza . . . the Assembly] The Junior League and the Assembly, social organizations for women of wealth who wanted to do civic good works and help the indigent and poor. Dolly’s debutante ball was held at New York’s Plaza Hotel (see also note 73.3).

  207.1 Celliniesque] Resembling the extravagant escapades of the Florentine goldsmith and writer Benvenuto Cellini (1500–1571), recounted in The Auto­biography of Benvenuto Cellini (English translation 1791).

  213.21 St. Thomas’s church.] Protestant Episcopal church at 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue. Its congregation was drawn from the ranks of the rich and socially prominent. One of the ornaments above its “marriage door,” situated to the left of the main entrance, resembles a dollar sign—a matter for joking among some of the parishioners.

  216.9 continuities for pictures] In the motion-picture business, a “continuity” is a written plan, set down in advance of filming. It details the order and connection of the scenes.

  216.25 Homeric] Big, formal send-off.

  219.19 ‘God Save the King’?”] British national anthem, adopted in 1745 during the reign of George II.

  220.14–15 the exchange existed no longer.] Telephone numbers of the time were preceded by lettered prefixes that stood for exchanges or central offices—Plaza or Rhinelander, for example. Certain exchanges were more prestigious than others. See also note 152.2.

  226.1 the Paris] Luxury transatlantic French liner that entered service in 1921. It was decorated in a combination of Art Deco, Art Nouveau, and Moorish styles. The Fitzgeralds traveled to France on the Paris in April 1928.

  229.18–19 Black Bear Lake] Cf. White Bear Lake, a town on the lake of the same name, near Fitzgerald’s hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. As a youth Fitzgerald attended dances at the White Bear Yacht Club; after their marriage, he and Zelda lived at the lake in August 1921 and again during the summer of 1922.

  230.13 Pierce-Arrow] Large luxury automobile with a powerful thirteen-liter engine. It was the most elegant car of the period.

  236.19 mashie shot] The mashie, a standard club for most golfers. It had the approximate loft of a five-iron and was used for medium-length shots.

  238.2–3 “Chin-Chin” and “The Count of Luxembourg” and “The Chocolate Soldier”—] “Chin-Chin Chinaman,” a comic song from the 1896 musical The Geisha, by Sidney Jones (which enjoyed a Broadway revival in 1913). The Count of Luxembourg (1912), a two-act Broadway operetta with English lyrics and libretto by Basil Hood and Adrian Ross, adapted from Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár’s three-act operetta Der Graf von Luxembourg (1909). The Chocolate Soldier (1909), an English-language adaptation of an operetta by Viennese composer Oscar Straus, based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Arms and the Man (1894). Prior to the manufacture of high-quality record discs and phonographs, hits from Broadway shows circulated as sheet music.

  247.15 when he was twenty-five.] The only date provided in the story is February 1917, just before Dexter enters the war. Here, Dexter should be twenty-six, not twenty-five.

  253.19 the war came to America in March] U.S. diplomatic relations with Germany ceased in February 1917, and entrance into World War I seemed certain by March. On April 6, 1917, the United States formally declared war on Germany and its allies.

  261.25–26 the Sixth and Ninth Commandments.] As numbered by the Roman Catholic Church, the commandments, respectively, against adultery and the coveting of one’s neighbor’s wife.

  263.17 ‘Twenty-three Skidoo’] Slang term (early twentieth century) of uncertain origin, meaning “Beat it!” or “Scram!”

  267.4–5 James J. Hill] See note 164.15.

  267.20 Alger books] American author Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832–1899), wrote Ragged Dick (1868) and numerous other rags-to-riches stories extolling honesty, hard work, and perseverance.

  267.21 “Hamline,”] Hamline University, a small Methodist institution in Fitzgerald’s native St. Paul.

  273.3–4 “Dómini, non sum dignus . . . ánima mea . . . ”] From the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Mass (c.1910): “Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof; but only say the word, and my soul will be healed.”

  273.12–13 “Corpus Dómini . . . vitam ætérnam”] “May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve (my/your) soul unto life everlasting.” See note 273.3–4.

  274.8 “Sagitta Volante in Die”] Latin: Flies by day. See Psalms 90:5–7 (the Douay version, 1914): “His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night. / Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.”

  277.25 the German cuirassiers at Sedan.] During the Franco-Prussian War, Sedan, on the Meuse River in northeastern France, was the site of a battle on September 1–2, 1870, that resulted in the capture of Napoleon III and the effective defeat of the French. The Prussian cuirassiers, a unit of heavy cavalry, wore breastplates and plumed or spiked helmets.

  279.3 The Majestic] Luxurious White Star liner that began life as the partly built German liner Bismarck. Under the reparations agreements in the Treaty of Versailles, the ship was awarded to the British as compensation for the sinking of the Britannic by a German mine. The Majestic was completed in 1921 and worked the transatlantic service between New York and Southampton.

  279.14–16 Gloria Swanson . . . Lord & Taylor . . . Graustark] Gloria Swanson (1899–1983), American actress who became famous in the 1920s while under contract with Paramount Pictures. Lord & Taylor, the department store chain, whose New York flagship store and headquarters had moved in 1914 from Broadway and 20th Street in the “Ladies’ Mile” to a new building at Fifth Avenue and 38th Street. Graustark, a fictional Balkan kingdom that is the setting of several novels by popular American writer George Barr McCutcheon (1866–1928), including Graustark (1901), Beverly of Graustark (1904), and The Prince of Graustark (1914)—all adapted for the screen as silent films.

  281.21–22 “American Magazine”] The American Magazine (1906–1956), a monthly magazine that began as a vehicle for muckraking journalism. Under the editorship of John M. Siddall (1915–23), the magazine expanded its market by focusing on female readers.

  282.27 the Ritz] See note 187.3.

  287.10–12 See who? . . . the Prince of Wales.”] Edward, Prince of Wales (1894–1972), toured the U.S. and Canada during the summer and fall of 1919. The press regarded him as the world’s most eligible bachelor. While in New York City, he was given a ticker-tape parade and attended the Ziegfeld Follies.

  301.9–11 Wessex . . . a Guelph] Wessex, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in southern England, famous as the setting for many of Thomas Hardy’s novels. The Guelphs, a European (and primarily German) dynasty from which the British House of Hanover was descended.

  LETTERS

  305.13 in the Mercury as a short story] “Absolution,” first published in The American Mercury 2 (June 1924) and collected in All the Sad Young Men (1926). It is included in the present volume.

  305.15 the Beautiful and Damned.] Fitzgerald’s second novel, published by Scribner’s in March 1922.

  306.12 Copperfield + Pendennis] David Copperfield (1850) by Charles Dickens (1812–1870), and Pendennis (1849–50) by W. M. Thackeray (1811–1863).

  306.13 This Side of Paradise] Fitzgerald’s first novel, published by Scribner’s in March 1920.

  307.11–12 Seldes . . . Ring’s book.] Gilbert Seldes (1893–1970) was an editor, book reviewer, and cultural critic. He published two reviews of The Great Gatsby, both highly favorable: “New York Chronicle,” New Criterion 4 (January 1926); and “Spring Flight,” The Dial 79 (August 1925). Fitzgerald’s friend Ring Lardner (1885–1933), a humorist, playwright, and short-story writer, eventually settled on What of It? as the title of his 1925 collection of stories.

  307.13 “My Life and Loves”] Sexually explicit memoir by Irish American writer Frank Harris (1856–1931), published privately from 1922 to 1927.

  307.18–19 that jacket . . . written it into the book.] Before departing with his wife and daughter for an extended stay in Europe, Fitzgerald had seen in the Scribner’s offices a gouache on paper by the Cuban American artist Francis Cugat (1893–1981). He asked that the image be reserved for the dust jacket of his novel in progress. The painting, which depicts a woman’s eyes hovering over an amusement-park scene, was used on the first-edition jacket of The Great Gatsby.

  307.26 Hergeshiemers novel] Basiland (1924) by American novelist Joseph Hergesheimer (1880–1954). First serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, it would soon be published in book form by A. A. Knopf.

  308.1–2 Gertrude Stiens novel in the Transatlantic Review.] Excerpts from The Making of Americans—a novel of encyclopedic scope by Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)—began appearing in 1924 in Ford Madox Ford’s The Transatlantic Review. In 1925 a limited edition of the novel would be published in Paris by Contact Press.

  308.3–11 Raymond Radiguets last book . . . Jean Cocteau] During his brief literary career, French writer Raymond Radiguet (1903–1923) wrote two novels. Le Diable au corps (1923), about a married woman who has an affair with a sixteen-year-old boy while her husband is away fighting the Germans on the Western Front, was a succèss de scandale. Le bal du Comte d’Orgel (1924) appeared after the author’s death from typhoid fever, its preface supplied by his friend and mentor Jean Cocteau (1889–1963).