Although it took two years of revision before Fitzgerald finally obtained a publishing contract for his first novel, This Side of Paradise was an immediate critical and popular success. As the anonymous article, "With College Men" in the New York Times Book Review of May 9, 1920, read, "The glorious spirit of abounding youth glows throughout this fascinating tale," and most reviews were similarly enthusiastic. Heywood Broun's April 11, 1920, review in the New York Tribune found the novel little more than a "self-conscious . . . stunt," but almost all other critics acknowledged Fitzgerald's great promise as a writer.

The novel briefly topped bestseller lists, and it was particularly popular among the young generation and in colleges. But Fitzgerald's success as a short story writer and the intrigue about his personal life were equally responsible for the subsequent success that earned him a reputation as an icon of the "lost generation." Critical...