Introduction

About the lecture

This module provides a broad introduction to F. Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby (1925), focusing in particular on the period in which the novel was written and published and the significance of the original title of the novel ('Trimalchio in West Egg') before thinking about some of its key themes – love, loss, wealth and ambition.

About the lecturer

John McRae is Special Professor of Language in Literature Studies and Teaching Associate in the School of English at Nottingham University, and holds Visiting Professorships in China, Malaysia, Spain and the USA. He is co-author of The Routledge History of Literature in English with Ron Carter, and also wrote The Language of Poetry, Literature with a Small 'l' and the first critical edition of Teleny by Oscar Wilde and others.