Winter Dreams

A charming collection of winter and holiday stories by iconic 20th-century writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, including pieces from the height of his 1920s magazine writing up to his first ever story about Pat Hobby’s adventures in Hollywood, compiled into an irresistibly festive package.

One of the twentieth century's preeminent fiction writers, F. Scott Fitzgerald was most prolific in story form. His stories are imbued with the same spirit as his novels: a tragicomic approach to the glamour of the Roaring Twenties, a deep attunement to nostalgia, and a fascination with social classes, all with an unwavering sensitivity to the perspective of the outsider. In Winter Dreams and Other Stories, Fitzgerald infuses his signature sensibility with the magic of wintertime.

This collection includes some of his best-loved stories, alongside lesser-known gems. “A Short Trip Home” is, as Fitzgerald, describes “the first real ghost story” he ever wrote. “Winter Dreams” was written while Fitzgerald was plotting out The Great Gatsby; like the novel, it examines a boy whose ambitions become entangled with his feelings for a wealthy young woman. “The Ice Palace” follows a Southerner who goes North and observes social and cultural differences for the first time. In “The Baby Party,” a toddler’s birthday party goes wrong on the eve of the holidays. “A Freeze-Out” represents a return to the mood of Fitzgerald’s earlier stories, in which problems are solved with decency and good breeding. And “Pat Hobby’s Christmas Wish” is the first in a series of stories chronicling Pat's misadventures in Hollywood.

Destined to be read next to the fire on a snowy night, these stories, like the magic of the holidays, are timeless.