The Diamond as Big as the Ritz by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald | Published: June 1922

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz Synopsis

"The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was published in The Smart Set in June 1922, and in the same year, it was also published in book form in the short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. The setting of Montana, where a large portion of the story takes place, may have been influenced by Fitzgerald's summertime stay close to White Sulphur Springs, Montana, in 1915.

John T. Unger is a young man from the Mississippi River town of Hades. John is spending the summer with his wealthy classmate Percy Washington when he discovers that his classmate's family is far more than well-off. This short story takes a delightful and surprising twist into a dark fable about the trappings of fortune.

Excerpt from The Diamond as Big as the Ritz Online Book

John T. Unger came from a family that had been well-known in Hades—a small town on the Mississippi River—for several generations. John's father had held the amateur golf championship through many a heated contest; Mrs. Unger was known "from hot-box to hot-bed," as the local phrase went, for her political addresses; and young John T. Unger, who had just turned sixteen, had danced all the latest dances from New York before he put on long trousers.

About F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to a middle-class family in 1896. Fitzgerald attended Princeton University for three years before leaving without a degree. He is considered one of the most influential authors of the twentieth century. His writing includes classic novels such as The Great Gatsby and Tender Is The Night, focusing on themes of wealth, ambition, love, and loss during the Jazz Age of 1920s America. Find out more about F. Scott Fitzgerald at sevenov.com.