"I know I'll wake up some morning and find that the debutantes have made me famous overnight."

This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel, tells the story of the youth of Fitzgerald's day like no other novel ever written. Released in 1920, this novel was an immediate success. It was received well by the older generation, and was also well-loved by the young. The release of this novel marked the beginning of the Jazz Age, an era that began with the end of World War I and continued until the1930s brought the start of the Great Depression. This Side of Paradise challenged tradition and is a landmark in modernist fiction. It has been widely criticized as simply being a bundle of short-stories and indeed does show the young author's naivety, but its unique structure is also a vital part of what makes it innovative. Although this novel is considered to be a part of the modernist movement, Fitzgerald developed a distinctly American literary identity with this novel, setting himself apart from his European contemporaries who headed the modernist movement.

"The glorious spirit of abounding youth glows throughout this fascinating tale," said an article entitled "With College Men" which appeared in The New York Book Review on May 9th 1920. And indeed, "the youth" were the biggest readers of this book. It was very popular with the younger generation and in colleges. But this novel was only part of what identified him as an icon of the "jazz age"--his short stories and intriguing personal life were mainly responsible for that.

Fitzgerald's second novel, The Beautiful and the Damned, was not nearly has successful as This Side of Paradise and his popularity declined after its release. The Great Gatsby was more well received than The Beautiful and the Damned, but was still not as popular as the novelist's first book. However, This Side of Paradise remained in vogue with readers until Fitzgerald's decline into alcoholism.

Attention wasn't turned back to Fitzgerald until many years after his death, with the release of Arthur Mizener's analytical biography of the author (c.1951). After that, Fitzgerald's books were incorporated into the literary canon and by the early 2000s he was considered to be one of the most important novelists of the twentieth century. Although This Side of Paradise has been less esteemed than The Great Gatsby or Tender is the Night, it is nevertheless viewed as a landmark achievement of the Jazz Age. Critics continue to write about this novel from nearly all analytical perspectives.